The Rose Duelist
by Seto's Princess
Summary: Maki Kaichi.OC. disappeared when she was 14. She returns home 3 yrs later and Seto Kaiba helps find her parents. She has a strange past though and there's a 5th BEWD card. Who are Rosenkreuz and the Rose Crusaders? SetoXOC
1. Maki Kaichi's Return

"_The Rose Duelist"_

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

(Partially based on the story from "_The Duelists of the Roses_" for **PlayStation2**)

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or The Duelists of the Roses.

**IMPORTANT MEMO! 8/10/05:** I made a few tiny changes to everything from chapters 1 to 8… They are tiny changes, so you do not necessarily have to read them over, but you could if you like.

**Chapter 1 – Maki Kaichi**

Maki Kaichi, now seventeen years old, suddenly appeared, out of nowhere, in the middle of a park in a town a few miles away from Domino City. She looked around and it took her a while to realize that she was finally home after three years. She did not want to be here, in her hometown. Some people started to stare at her as though they had seen her somewhere before but could not remember where. It was a beautiful summer afternoon. She glanced down at the only thing she was holding in her hand – a white rose. A tear rolled down her cheek as she softly whispered to herself, "Rosenkreuz..."

Maki knew the town well. Even though she had been gone for three years, she knew her way around. After walking for a few minutes, she finally reached her house. _'I wonder how my parents will react when they see that I'm finally home' _she thought. Her belt had two small pouches hanging from it; one held her duel deck and the other held her house keys. She reached for her keys but hesitated. _'Maybe I should ring the bell to make sure they're home'_ she thought.

Maki rang the doorbell to the one family home and waited for someone to open the door. Somewhere inside the house, a young girl shouted, "I'll get it!" The little girl opened the door; she was about seven years old.

"Hello. Who are you?" she asked Maki.

"Um… I um…" Maki replied. '_Who are _you_? Isn't this my house?_' she thought.

"Who is it, Kiki?" called her mother as she walked towards the door.

"Hello. May I help you?" the mother asked Maki.

Maki finally found the words she was trying to say. "Um, excuse me, but isn't this the Kaichi household?"

"Kaichi?" replied the mother. "They moved out a year ago."

"What? They moved out? And they didn't wait for me to come back?" Maki was starting to get worried. How could her parents just leave without her?

Kiki's mother glanced at Maki with a strange look on her face. "Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, no. I'm so sorry to bother you! Goodbye!" Maki then made a run for it.

Before she knew it, she had reached a small Japanese restaurant a few blocks away. One of the best friends of Maki's family owned it. She gently opened the door and stepped inside. There was no one inside. The place looked very different from how Maki remembered it. The floor was still made of marble but it was black and white in a checkerboard style. The walls were a light shade of green, no longer maroon, as they once had been.

Maki walked up to the counter and called out, "Excuse me? Is anyone here? Mrs. Shuka? Hello?"

"Yes? Who's there?" a woman in her late twenties replied as she walked towards the counter from the kitchen behind it. Once she saw Maki, she stood frozen to the spot but she could still speak.

"M-Maki? Maki Kaichi? No. It's not possible! You… disappeared… without a trace… three years ago! You can't be Maki! Or… can you?" The woman was still in shock and called out to her husband, "Ichiro! Ichiro! Come over here!"

A man with blond spiked hair came out from the kitchen and, like his wife, froze at the sight of the seventeen-year-old girl.

"Oh… my… G-" he began when Maki interrupted him by saying, "It's nice to see you guys too…"

"Is it really you?" Ichiro asked.

"Yep, it's me," replied Maki.

"Prove it. Show us our favorite cards," said Mrs. Shuka.

Maki put the white rose in her pocket, making sure that only the stem was inside, took out her dueling deck from her belt pouch, and started to search for Mr. and Mrs. Shuka's three favorite cards. She found the first, Mrs. Shuka's favorite, Dunames Dark Witch; then Mr. Shuka's favorite, Barrel Dragon; and finally the favorite of both, the Raigeki magic card. These cards were not rare, but Maki was the only one in town who had all three cards together. In addition, Maki was the only one who knew what their favorite cards were. After all, she was their favorite duelist.

"It _is_ you!" Mrs. Shuka cried out as she ran over to hug Maki. "Where have you been these three years?"

"It's very hard to explain, and you would probably think I'm crazy if I told you anyway. Do you know where my parents moved to?" Maki asked them.

**TBC…**

Please Review! Thanks for all your support! I love all my reviewers! Byebye! By the way, Seto is 16, but he will be 17 in this story.


	2. Where are Maki's Parents?

"The Rose Duelist"

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, or the Duelists of the Roses (Although I do have the game.)

**Chapter 2 – Where are Maki's Parents?**

"Oh. No Maki. We're sorry, but your parents never told us where they were going. We're so sorry," Mrs. Shuka said.

"Oh… Are you sure they didn't tell anyone?" Maki asked.

"Well, you could ask the Harrisons. That nice American family moved next door to your house about a year after you disappeared," Mrs. Shuka answered.

"Oh, okay. Thank you. I'd better go then," Maki said.

"Now? Are you sure? Don't you want to eat something first, Maki? Aren't you tired?" Mrs. Shuka asked.

"Well… Okay. I'll have some sushi please." Maki said.

After Maki had finished eating, she thanked Mr. and Mrs. Shuka and left to go to the Harrison household. She took the white rose out of her pocket and held it with her right hand once again. She rang the doorbell and waited for someone to come to the door. A beautiful woman with blond hair and green eyes in her late twenties opened the door.

"Excuse me, are you Mrs. Harrison?" Maki asked the woman.

"Yes. May I help you?"

"Hi. My name is Maki Kaichi. I was told that you might know where my parents moved to," Maki calmly said.

"Maki? Yes… Your parents told me about you. You disappeared a long time ago, didn't you?" asked Mrs. Harrison.

"Well, yes… But I'm finally back and I would really like to know where my parents are," Maki said.

"Oh. Okay. Well, I'm sorry but I don't know where they are. They didn't tell me. However, maybe you could ask my niece, Michelle. She was like a second daughter to your parents. She lives in the fourth house exactly six blocks away from here. It's number 412."

"Okay. Thank you so much. It was nice to meet you. Bye!" Maki said. _'Well, I guess this is my last hope. She was like a second daughter to them. If Michelle doesn't know where they are… then I'll never find them,_' she thought.

Maki walked towards Michelle's house with one hand in her pocket and the other still held the beautiful white rose. She was wearing black denim shorts with her special silver dueling belt, a white spaghetti-strapped tank top, a black denim jacket, and her lucky sneakers. She wore the exact same outfit when she disappeared three years ago. It was the first time she noticed that she was wearing the same thing she had on three years ago. '_Hmm… I wonder how these clothes can still fit me… Oh well…_' she thought.

There was a circular pin on her jacket. It was almost the size of a police badge. On the badge was a white rose, seen from a bird's-eye view. There was a golden seed in the center of the rose, and two thin swords criss-crossed each other over the rose and the seed. It seemed to be some sort of special insignia. Maki kicked a small rock that was on the ground and started to walk slower.

She softly spoke to herself as she walked. "Why? How could he just let me go like that? How could he just… get rid of me as if I meant nothing to him? I fought for him… for three years. I was the most loyal crusader. Wasn't I important to him at all? I was his friend at the least. I… loved him… and… I still do. Oh Rosenkreuz…"

She reached the house just as a young fifteen-year-old girl was stepping outside.

"Hello. Are you Michelle?" Maki asked the young American girl.

"Yes. I'm Michelle. Do I know you?"

"No. My name is Maki Kaichi. You knew my parents right?"

"Yes! Oh, wow! Your parents are so awesome! How are they? Wait... Didn't you disappear about three years ago? Your parents missed you so much. I think that's why they were so nice to me," Michelle said as she smiled.

"Yeah. I was gone. However, I'm back now. And I wanted to ask you if you knew where my parents moved to," Maki said patiently.

"No. They never told me. They just couldn't take the pain anymore. They needed to get away. They lost hope of ever finding you," Michelle replied sadly.

"Oh… I see… Well… Thanks anyway… I guess." Maki's face fell. She wanted her parents back.

"Wait! I think I know someone who can help you," Michelle called out as Maki was starting to leave.

**TBC…**

Please review. Technically, if this story fit into the show, it would be right after Battle City… The Doom/Waking the Dragons season didn't happen yet… Thanks! Bye bye!


	3. Off to Domino City

"The Rose Duelist"

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I don not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the Duelists of the Roses… I do have a Playstation 2 though… lol…

**Chapter 3 – Off to Domino City**

"Really? Who?" Maki asked hopefully.

"Well. Kaiba Corp. is one of the largest gaming/technology corporations in the world. Doesn't your father work in that sort of thing? Maybe he went to work for Seto Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corp."

Maki's eyes widened as soon as Michelle mentioned Seto. "Did you say Seto Kaiba?"

"Yes," Michelle replied, "Why? Do you know him?"

"Uh… no." Maki shook her head fiercely. "Where can I find him?"

"He lives in Domino City a few miles away from here. I'm sure it won't be that hard to find him."

"Okay…Thank you so much! Bye," Maki said and left.

'_I can't believe it! Could it be true? Seto Kaiba exists in my world too? I must see him! I need to know if he's the same person. Maybe not the EXACT same person, but as similar as possible,_' Maki thought. She immediately took a bus to Domino City since she didn't have any of her belongings except, of course, her duel deck and the white rose which she still held tightly in her hand.

It was going to be a thirty-minute trip. She took a small nap on the bus and woke up about twenty minutes later. "Yes! In a few minutes I'll be able to see him," she mumbled to herself.

After Maki got off the bus, she saw a very tall building in the middle of the city. _'I wonder if that's Kaiba Corp._' she thought. She started walking towards the grand and beautiful building. _'President of one of the largest companies in the world… Well… there's one similarity. They're both leaders of something huge.'_

"Huh?" Maki's eyes widened when she saw the people walking towards her. _'Could it be? Well if Seto exists in this world, then they must also exist in this world.' _She was getting close to the group of three. _'It IS them! But… I wonder if they know Seto… I'll just have to take that chance…'_

"Excuse me, I'm new here. You're Yugi Motou aren't you?" Maki asked the short black, red, and blonde haired boy.

"Yes. Who are-?"

"I knew it!" Maki interrupted. "And you're Joey Wheeler and Tea Gardner," she said to the other two teenagers.

"Hey! Who are ya? How come ya know our names?" Joey took a step towards Maki.

"Um… well it's really hard to explain and you wouldn't believe me if I told you anyway. But that's not important. My name is Maki Kaichi," she said.

"Oh. Well it's very nice to meet you! Would you like a tour of the city?" asked Tea.

"Um… No thank you. I really need to find someone right now. Um… may I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?" asked Yugi.

"Do you know where I can find Seto Kaiba?" Maki asked with a slight hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Kaiba? Why on earth would anyone want to see that jerk?" Joey shouted.

"I was told he could help me find my parents," Maki replied. "We were separated three years ago. Seto is my last hope of ever finding them."

"Ha! Yeah right! Dat guy doesn't help anyone but himself!" Joey's eyes narrowed as he said this.

Maki's face faulted. _'Selfish? Is he a jerk like Rosenkreuz? I'll have to find out for myself…' _"Oh. Okay. I'll just go then," she said with a sad expression on her face and started to walk away.

"Wait! Kaiba's not exactly a generous guy, but you can't give up on finding your parents," Yugi said. "He should be at the top of the Kaiba Corp. building," he pointed towards the same tall building that Maki saw before.

"Thank you very much! Bye!" Maki said with a slight bow and ran off towards Kaiba Corp.

"Good luck!" Tea shouted from behind her.

Maki finally reached the building after a ten-minute walk. '_Wow…_' she thought as she looked up at the marvelous sight of the building. "Well, here goes nothing," she said to herself. She opened the door, stepped inside the building, and walked up to the front desk.

"Excuse me," she said to the blonde haired, brown-eyed woman who was sitting at the desk. "May I please see Mr. Seto Kaiba?"

"Do you have an appointment?" The woman never looked at Maki; she was busy with some papers.

"Um… No. However, it's very important that I see him. I was told that he might be able to help me with something."

"Okay. Well you have to ask his personal secretary. She's on the top floor."

"Okay. Thank you very much," Maki said as she started walking towards the elevator with the Kaiba Corp. logo on it. '_Okay. Top floor,_' she thought. She stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. When she got off the elevator at the top floor, she saw a tall black haired woman at a desk. She was rustling through some papers. There were large file cabinets against the wall behind the desk and there was a small sofa on the left hand side of the elevator. There was a large double door about a foot away from the desk. A long hallway stretched out on both the left and right.

"Hello. My name is Maki Kaichi. I'm here to see Seto Kaiba. I need him to help me with something very important."

"Let me see if he is available," the woman said as she looked up. She got up from her desk and walked over to the door near her desk. She carefully knocked on the door and a harsh cold voice from inside the room said, "Come in."

"Wait here," she said to Maki as she opened the door and stepped inside.

After about a minute, the woman came out of the room and said, "You may go in."

Maki thanked the secretary and began walking towards the door leading to Seto's office. _'Well, this is it… I have nothing to lose… I'm actually going to see him!'_ she thought. Her heart was pounding. She slowly opened the door. She didn't even notice the sign on the door that said 'Mr. Seto Kaiba, CEO.' She opened the door with her left hand since she still held the white rose tightly in her right hand. She finally stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

**TBC…**

Please Review! Thanks for the reviews! I love you guys! Not that way… lol…


	4. Seto's Compromise

"The Rose Duelist"

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… If I did, I'd be as rich as Seto… Boy that would be awsome!... Aww poo… anyway…

**Chapter 4 – Seto's Compromise…**

The room was dark; the only light that there was came from the sun outside and from the computer screen on Seto's desk. Maki looked around the room. It was extremely clean and organized. _'Second similarity – they're both very organized,_' she thought. There were bookshelves and file cabinets on both the left and right walls. The wall where the door was had framed certificates and awards. Maki walked towards the large organized desk.

"U-Um… Excuse me, Mr. S-Seto Kaiba?" Maki's voice was shaking along with her whole body. She surprised herself. _'Why am I so nervous?' _Under normal conditions, she would not be so nervous, but she was just about to meet her world's counterpart of the man she grew to love.

"Yes. Who are you and what do you want from me?" His voice was harsh, cold, and uninterested unlike Maki's shaky nervous tone.

'_Third similarity – tone of voice,'_ she thought. She walked over to the right side of the desk to look at him. Her eyes lit up as she saw the tall dark figure sitting at the desk. She examined him as much as she could. _'Fourth similarity – definitely physical appearance,'_ she thought.

"Well?" he asked impatiently. He turned to look at Maki. He examined her from head to toe and stopped at her eyes.

As soon as his eyes met hers, Maki became entranced by his cold and icy, yet gorgeous stare. At that moment, she calmed down and thought, _'fifth similarity – his eyes captivate me.'_

She took a deep breath and calmly said to him, "my name is Maki Kaichi. I was told that you might be able to help me find my parents. Please help me Mr. Kaiba. I know this might sound pathetic but you're my last hope. Please help me find them."

"I'll pay you!" she added quickly, knowing what his response to her request would be.

"I can't say how much since I don't know how much money my parents have. But if you're not satisfied with what you receive from us, then you are fully entitled to my loyal services until you feel that we have fully repaid our debt to you," Maki said sincerely as she looked deep into his eyes. Then she took a slight bow and waited for his response.

Seto noticed a duel deck in her belt pouch and asked, "Do you play Duel Monsters?" He didn't take his eyes off her deck.

Maki glanced down at her deck, looked back at him, and replied "Yes. I love Duel Monsters! Well, can you help me find my parents?"

He stood up and walked over to the window, which took up the entire wall. He looked outside and said, "I have a very busy schedule. I don't have time for menial favors. What could you possibly offer that will benefit me?"

Maki thought for a second and then an idea struck her mind. _'If he's anything like Rosenkreuz, he'll be interested in what I'm going to say…'_

She said to him a bit more confidently, "Let's just say I have some very valuable information that someone like you wouldn't dare pass up."

"And what kind of information would that be?"

"There's a fifth Blue Eyes White Dragon Card and its holder is in this very city."

"What?" Seto asked and turned to face her. He didn't believe her at first, but as he looked deeper and deeper into her eyes, he could see that she was telling the truth.

"Sorry, but I won't give you any other information unless you help me," Maki said.

He had a businesslike smirk. "You sure know how to make a good deal. Perhaps I'll let you work for me if my reward isn't enough."

She smiled and then turned to look out the wall sized window. _'This Seto is definitely similar.'_ The sun was setting in the sky behind the tall skyscrapers of Domino City.

Seto looked outside the window again and said, "What are your parents' names?"

"You're really going to help me! Oh thank you so much!" she screamed excitedly. Before either of them could realize what was going on, Maki was hugging Seto tightly.

"Grr…" Seto tried to push her away but she still held on a little longer.

"Oopps! I'm so sorry! I was caught up in the moment. Sorry," Maki said once she let him go. She looked down at the floor, hiding the flush in her cheeks, and fiddled with the rose in her hand. _'I can't believe I just did that! It did feel good, though. It felt really good._'

"My parents are Morosou and Yakima Kaichi," Maki finally said after the slight moment of silence. She looked up at Seto.

He didn't reply. He walked over to his computer, sat down on his chair, and started typing. "Come back tomorrow at seven AM. I should be able to find them by then."

"Okay. Thank you so much! I promise you won't be sorry!" Maki smiled and waved goodbye as she headed for the door.

"One more thing," Seto called out to Maki as she was about to leave. "What's with the rose?"

"Huh? Oh I…uh… It's nothing special really," she lied. She stared at the white rose with sparkling eyes.

Seto glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. _'Whatever.'_ "You can leave now."

Maki waved goodbye again and left.

**TBC…**

Hello! Thanks for all your lovely reviews! Well, mainly for the other stories… Sadly, this one isn't as popular as the others… Oh well, this is my only romance fic…


	5. Mai's Offer

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… Nope. Nuh-uh… Does it look like I do? Heehee.

Hey, sorry it took me soooooo long to update this one… Apparently, some of you actually got interested in this one… So I decided to continue it. Thanks so much for all your support. This story might not be as popular as my others, but it is the story that got me started writing fanfics. I dedicate this chapter to all the reviewers. Thank you guys so much!

Oh, and I found out long ago how old Seto is. He's 18 in the American version, but he's technically 16. Okay. However, I made him 17 in this fic… Why? Well, it will make more sense later on… when we get to the chapter when Maki reveals her past.

Finally, the moment you've all been waiting for!

**Chapter 5 – A Place to Stay…**

Maki left the Kaiba Corp. building. She wandered around town and eventually found herself in Domino Park. She walked around the park and sat down on a swing. _'Now what?'_ she thought. She had nowhere to go. She was all alone now. _'I need a place to stay.'_ She didn't have enough money for a hotel. She had spent some of her money on the bus fare to Domino and she only had enough money for food. _'I wouldn't dare to ask Seto for another favor. He's doing enough for me already. What am I going to do?'_

Just then, Yugi, Joey, and Tea came by with two other girls. One was short and had long brown hair. The other girl was tall and had long, curly, shiny blonde hair. Tea saw Maki and the group went over to greet her.

Maki had finally found Seto and there was a high possibility that she was going to be reunited with her parents. Thus, her openness had faded away. She really did not feel like talking to anyone now, and besides, she never did like to talk to people in the first place. She was, after all, a loner.

"Oh. Hello," Maki greeted blankly.

"Hello Maki," Yugi said.

Maki looked at the group. She really didn't want to make friends. She had never had any friends in her life. However, Yugi, Tea, and Joey had been nice to her and helped her find Kaiba Corp. _'Perhaps I could be nice to them… But I mustn't get too close… I never had friends and I don't want any friends…' _she thought.

"You're Mai Valentine, right?" Maki asked the tall blond haired girl.

"Yeah. Do I know you?" she replied.

"No. It's a long story. Don't ask, please. My name is Maki Kaichi."

"Hey Maki! This is my sister, Serenity." Joey said and gestured towards the short brown haired girl.

"Hello, Serenity. Nice to meet you," Maki said with a small smile.

"Same here," said Serenity.

"So, how did it go with Kaiba?" Yugi asked Maki.

Yugi, Tea, Mai, and Serenity listened intently. Joey scoffed, crossed his arms, and leaned against the swing set pole.

"I bet he said no," Joey retorted.

"Actually, he agreed to help me," Maki said to contradict Joey's comment.

"Kaiba agreed to help you? With what, Maki?" asked Mai.

"She was separated from her parents three years ago and she needs to find them," Tea answered.

"You were separated from your parents? That's terrible! How were you separated?" Serenity asked compassionately.

"It's a long story. I don't want to talk about it," Maki said as she carefully eyed the white rose in her hand.

"How did you get Kaiba to agree?" Tea asked with interest.

Maki was not paying attention. She was lost in her own thoughts. _'Rosenkreuz… How could you?'_

"Uh… Maki? Hello? Is anybody in dere?" Joey said as he waved his hand around in Maki's face.

"What? Oh, sorry. I guess I kind of drifted off, didn't I," Maki said after Joey startled her.

"Hey, Maki, I was wondering, you just came to Domino today, right? So, where are you going to stay for the night?" asked Tea.

"Um… Well I'm not sure. I don't have enough money for a hotel room and I don't want to have to borrow money from anybody," Maki said.

"Hey. You can stay with me if you want, girl." Mai offered nicely.

"What? No, I couldn't possibly ask that of you," Maki said. _'If I stay with her, she might think I want to be her friend... No... I can't do that.'_

"I insist!" Mai replied.

"No really, it's alright…" Maki said.

"No. No. I absolutely insist!" Mai exclaimed.

"You better listen to her, Maki. Mai will keep insisting. She's not going to give up," Tea said.

_'Damn... I don't want to get too close to anyone... but I _do _need a place to sleep...' _Maki supressed a sigh of resignation and nodded her head. "Alright. Thank you Mai…"

"No problem. You need a place to stay until you find your parents. I have plenty of room. Trust me, its okay," Mai replied.

"Maki, where did you get that rose?" Serenity asked with interest. "Was it from Kaiba?"

"Ha! Yeah, right! Like Kaiba would ever give anyone a rose," retorted Joey.

"No. It wasn't from him. It was from someone very special." Maki drifted off once again and smiled gently as she stared at the rose. Then her face slowly fell as she sighed.

Yugi, Joey, Tea, Mai, and Serenity looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

"Well, it's getting late. Maki, why don't we go get your stuff so you can settle down at my place?" Mai asked nicely.

"I don't have anything. I just have this rose and my Duel Monsters deck."

"Ya play Duel Monsters?" Joey asked with great interest in his voice.

"What? Yeah, I love Duel Monsters. I could have been the champion duelist of my hometown if it hadn't been for that incident three years ago."

"Maybe I could duel ya sometime," Joey said.

"Sure. I'd like that," Maki said with a small smile. Duel Monsters was one of the only things that Maki enjoyed in life.

"You don't have anything? Not even clothes?" Mai asked with a look on her face as if it was the worst thing in the world.

"No. This is all I have."

"Well, then. We must get you some stuff. Come on, I'm taking you to the mall."

"No, Mai. I couldn't ask you to do that. You're doing enough for me already," Maki said. '_These people are being a little _too_ nice to me.'_

"No, Maki, I insist. Come on, let's go." Mai grabbed Maki's arm and dragged her to her car.

"Um, okay." Maki said in confusion as Mai dragged her to her light purple convertible.

The group waved at the two girls and said goodbye.

After three hours of shopping, Mai and Maki arrived at Mai's mansion. Actually, most of the things that they had bought were for Mai. Maki only bought a few things. She spent all her money and Mai pitched in a little. She did not want Mai to spend too much. _'Why should someone who isn't going to be my friend spend so much money on me?'_

"Wow! You didn't tell me you lived in a mansion. This place is fantastic!" Maki said excitedly as she entered the mansion. She had never seen such a place before.

"Oh. I guess I forgot. Well, this is actually my parents' place, but they're always out. I've been living here. As you can see, we have quite a lot of space."

"I wonder if Seto's place is this big," Maki said as she walked up the stairs with Mai, dragging a few of Mai's bags along.

"Uh, Maki, here's a tip. Never call Kaiba by his first name. He doesn't like it. And if you think that this place is big, then you should see his."

"Oh. I see."

"Well, here's your room Maki. I assume you're tired from our little shopping spree, so you can sleep immediately if you'd like. I'll see you tomorrow!" Mai smiled as they entered Maki's room.

"Goodnight Mai," Maki said as Mai left the room.

**TBC…**

YAY! I finally posted this chapter. Thank you guys so much for reviewing. And thanks to those who supported my OC. She isn't a Mary-Sue… Believe me her life is quite complicated. Please Review. I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm sure this story won't be as popular as my other ones, but I would like some recognition for this one. After all, I do use Maki in two of my humor stories. Well, thank you so much… And I will get working on this story and hopefully get the next chapter posted soon.


	6. Almost Late!

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh… I simply own Maki.

Thank you guys for the lovely reviews! I really appreciate them. Thanks!

**Chapter 6 – Almost Late**

The next morning…

'_No! Stop! I want to stay here!'_ Maki tossed and turned in her bed. _'Rosenkreuz! Stop! I love you, Seto Rosenkreuz! Please! I want to stay!'_

"ROSENKREUZ!" Maki woke up, sweating. She was breathing heavily. She fingered the white rose badge she had pinned to her new pajamas. "Seto…"

"Oh, no! I'm going to be late!" Maki screamed as she glanced at the clock on the small table beside her bed. It clearly read 6:43 AM. "I can't be late!"

Maki quickly got up from her bed, raced to the bathroom across the hall and took a quick five-minute shower. She put on the same clothes that she was wearing the day before. She took the white rose from the vase on the small table beside her bed and put it in her hair after she put her hair up in a ponytail. The clock now read 6:50 AM.

"I must hurry up!" Maki said as she rushed out of the room and ran downstairs to the front door. She went outside and started running towards the Kaiba Corp. building. Maki looked at the new wristwatch that Mai had bought for her the night before.

"6:51! I have to hurry up!" Maki said aloud as she ran as fast as she could towards the Kaiba Corp. building. After she ran past five blocks, she quickened her pace. She did not even notice the small, twelve-year-old boy in front of her.

"Huh? Oh, no!" Maki exclaimed as she tripped over the boy and fell onto the sidewalk. Her knee hurt a little from the impact with the ground but it was not scratched. She got up as fast as she could and went over to the boy.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you okay?" Maki asked the boy in front of her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Yes. I apologize again." Maki said.

"It's okay. My name is Mokuba. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm Maki Kaichi. I have to meet someone at 7:00 AM today, but I woke up late and I- OH NO!" Maki looked at her watch. It read 6:55. "I'm going to be late!"

"Where do you need to go? Maybe my driver can take you there," Mokuba said calmly.

"Really? Thank you so much! I need to go to Kaiba Corp.," Maki said as they climbed into the limo. _'Wow! This kid travels around in a limo. His parents must be rich.'_

"Kaiba Corp.? I was going there too!" Mokuba said excitedly.

"Cool. Do your parents work there?"

"Um, no… My parents are dead. I live with my brother." he replied shyly.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Maki said as the limo pulled up in front of the Kaiba Corp. building. She glanced at her watch. It read 6:58.

"Come on. We should hurry up!" Mokuba exclaimed as the two got out of the car and rushed inside the building.

They rushed past the front desk to the elevator and didn't notice when the secretary at the desk said, "Good morning Mr. Mokuba, Sir."

"Which floor Maki?" Mokuba asked.

"He's on the top floor! Hurry," Maki said as he pushed the button for the top floor.

"Are you here to see Seto?" Mokuba asked, since Seto was the only person on the top floor at this time. The secretary didn't normally come to work until 7:30.

"Yeah," Maki said as the elevator stopped and the doors opened to reveal the top floor. "Come on!"

They got off the elevator and quickly walked over to the door leading to Seto's office. Maki knocked on the door and a harsh voice from inside said, "come in."

Maki and Mokuba entered the room and closed the door behind them. Maki looked at her watch. _'Phew! I made it, with ten seconds to spare.'_

Before Maki got a chance to speak, Mokuba ran over to Seto and hugged him tightly.

"Hello, Seto," Mokuba said.

"Hey there, kiddo. What are you doing here?" Seto asked.

"I thought I would surprise you, big brother," Mokuba said with a big smile, and continued, "and my new friend Maki said she needed to see you today."

'_What? That kid is Seto's brother? Wow… Sweet kid,' _Maki thought.

"Huh?" Seto looked up and saw Maki standing by the doorway. "Oh, that's right."

"Hello, Kaiba. I didn't know that you had a brother. He's really nice." Maki smiled and walked towards the young CEO.

"Yes, well, I found some information on your parents. They currently live in a town about two hours away from here."

"Really? Oh my God, thank you so much for finding them!" Maki was about to hug Seto, but she held back.

"Now, about the Blue Eyes White Dragon card…" Seto began.

"Can you please take me to see them? Please? I wish I didn't have to ask you, but I have no way of getting there," Maki said as she looked at the floor.

Seto thought about it for a minute, but he agreed. "Fine, but as soon as your little reunion is over, I want to know about the fifth Blue Eyes," Seto said as he gently pushed Mokuba off him.

"Sure. Thank you so much!"

Seto stood up and started walking towards the door. "Well, are you coming or not?"

Maki and Mokuba looked at each other, smiled, and followed Seto out the door. The three of them exited the building and climbed into the limo. Mokuba sat in the middle, Maki sat on his left and Seto sat on his right.

'_Wow. I'm finally going to see my parents… after all these years…And I'm in a limo with Seto… Could this day get any better?' _Maki thought as she looked out the window.

"Seto, where are we going?" Mokuba asked his older brother.

Before Seto could answer, Maki interrupted him. "We're going to see my parents, Mokuba. We were separated three years ago. I came back yesterday and I asked your brother here to help me find them."

"Where were you?" Mokuba asked, obviously interested in Maki's story.

"Um… Well, see it's kind of hard to explain."

"You were alone for three years? Were you okay?" Mokuba asked.

"Actually, Mokuba, I wasn't completely alone." Maki sighed and glanced over at Seto. She noticed that he had been looking at her through the corner of his eye. She quickly snapped her head back around, looked out the window once again, and immersed herself in deep thought. Mokuba noticed this and he waited until she snapped out of it to speak again. After a few minutes, Maki's gaze left the window.

"Who were you with, Maki?" Mokuba asked, still interested in her story.

"I was with someone who I came to love very much, but he never felt the same way about me…" She took a slight glance at Seto and continued, "I want to bury that part of my past. I can't though, not just yet. I can't bury it until I've accomplished the goal that I've made for myself." She clenched her hands into fists and there was a slight bit of rage in her eyes as she stared at her knees.

Seto looked over at her. _'Hmmm…'_

Maki glanced down at the badge on her jacket. She sighed and unclenched her fists. All the rage from her eyes suddenly disappeared without a trace.

"Are you okay, Maki?" Mokuba asked with concern.

"What? Oh, yeah… Sorry about that. Um, Se- uh, Kaiba, if you don't mind me asking, I'm sure you're incredibly smart and very talented, but how does someone your age become the CEO of one of the largest gaming corporations in the world?" Maki looked at Seto as she waited for his answer.

"That's none of your business," he replied.

"Aw, Seto, come on," Mokuba said to his older brother.

"Its okay, Mokuba, I understand," Maki said and looked at Seto once again.

His eyes met hers, and for a brief moment, there was an understanding between them. They had each been through a rough past.

**TBC…**

My Maki drawing contest is still going on… Please read my note at the bottom of "Leave A Message After the Beep!" Chapter 7 for the rules or whatever… Anyway… Sorry if I'm updating slower lately… High school really takes everything out of me… Well, have a nice day! Bye!


	7. Kaichi Reunion

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh… I simply own Maki and Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Shuka, Mrs. Harrison, and Michelle…

Thank you guys for the lovely reviews! I really appreciate them. Thanks! I really wish I could update this story faster, but whenever I try to work on it, I seem to lose my inspiration. Damn. I blame homework.

This chapter is a little fluffy…

**Chapter 7 – Kaichi Reunion…**

The three of them were silent for the rest of the ride. They finally reached a small town with only a few tall business buildings. Obviously, they were not as impressive as the Kaiba Corp. building. They stopped at a decent looking home fit for two people. They got out of the car and walked to the front door. Maki just stood there.

"Well?" Seto asked slightly impatiently.

Maki stared at the ground. _'What if they don't remember me? What will happen if they can't take me back? How can I explain my disappearance? What if-'_

The sound of a doorbell interrupted her train of thought. Seto had reached out from behind her and rung the doorbell. She immediately looked at him.

"I wasn't going to wait for you all day," he said as he smirked.

She turned back around and rung the doorbell. A voice from inside the house told them to hold on. The door opened and a dark haired, average looking, forty-two-year-old woman stepped out. She seemed to have been very pretty, but her beauty was gone now; her face showed stress, worry, and grievance. She had the same sapphire blue eyes that Maki had, but they seemed to have lost their shine; they looked rather dull. She looked from Mokuba to Seto to Maki.

"May I help-" the woman began, but once she took a closer look at Maki, her eyes widened. "You… look at lot like… my daughter, Maki."

Maki was so nervous that she could not speak.

"Say something!" Seto was getting very impatient.

"Uh… mom?" Maki's voice was quivering.

The woman gasped and cupped her mouth with her hand. She slowly lowered it. "Maki. Is it really you?"

Maki nodded.

"You've come back, after three long years. Oh, Maki!" She immediately wrapped her arms around Maki and started to cry. "I can't believe you're finally home!"

"It's… nice to see you again… mom…"

"Please, come inside to see your father. Um… are these friends of yours?" Mrs. Kaichi asked looking at Seto and Mokuba over Maki's shoulder.

"Well… uh…" Maki hesitated, wondering if Seto considered her as a friend. Besides, Maki never had any friends. Why should she start now?

"Come in. All of you, come in," Mrs. Kaichi said. There was a warm glow of happiness and relief in her eyes. They all entered the house.

"Morosou! Morosou, come here! Our Maki has returned!" Mrs. Kaichi exclaimed.

"What did you say, Yakima?" A dark haired, forty-four-year-old man quickly came into the living room to see what was going on.

"Hello, dad," Maki said calmly.

"Oh my God! Maki! We haven't seen you in three years!" Mr. Kaichi held his daughter in his arms tightly.

Mrs. Kaichi beckoned all of them to sit. Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi sat on the couch along with Maki, Mokuba sat in the nearby rocking chair, and Seto remained standing. Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi were so excited to have their daughter back that they did not really notice that Seto and Mokuba were there.

"Where have you been, Maki? You were in the middle of the final duel at that tournament back at our old hometown when you suddenly disappeared without a trace! Were you safe? Were you alone?" Mrs. Kaichi was very curious to know how Maki could have survived three years out on her own.

'_Duel tournament?'_ Seto thought.

"I'm… fine… mom. As for where I was, and… whom I was with," she trailed off and stared at the white rose in her hand. She sighed.

"Well, that's a long story. I don't… really want to talk about it just yet."

Mr. Kaichi realized that they were not alone and offered the Kaiba brothers something to drink.

"Water, please, Mr. Kaichi," Mokuba said politely.

"What about you, young man?" Mr. Kaichi asked Seto.

Seto did not reply. He was looking out the window.

"No. Big brother's fine," Mokuba replied for Seto.

Mr. Kaichi went into the kitchen to get a glass of water for Mokuba.

Maki stared at Seto. Mrs. Kaichi noticed and she looked over at him as well. "Is he your boyfriend, Maki?" she whispered.

Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi had heard of the great Seto Kaiba, but they had never actually seen him in person. That is why they did not know that he was right there in their living room.

"WHAT? NO!" Maki screamed aloud. "I mean… err… That is… uh… no," she mumbled. Everyone looked at her, a bit surprised. Maki blushed from embarrassment and stared at the floor.

"How did you get back? How did you find us?" Mr. Kaichi asked Maki as he handed Mokuba a glass of water.

"Thank you," Mokuba said.

"Actually, I just got home yesterday. I found out that you had moved away, so I asked Mr. and Mrs. Shuka where you had gone, but they did not know. Then I asked Mrs. Harrison, and she told me to ask her niece, Michelle. She did not know either, but she said that maybe I could find help in Domino City. I took a bus there and asked around for someone who could help me. I was told that Seto Kaiba could help me and he did."

"Seto Kaiba? Do you mean the owner of Kaiba Corp.?" Mr. Kaichi asked.

Maki nodded and he added, "Why would someone as important as he be willing to help you find us?"

"I agreed because your daughter claims to have some very important information for me. Maki, are you going to share your valuable information with me anytime soon or have you forgotten? I've held up my part of our deal. It's your move now," Seto said impatiently.

"Sorry. I forgot to introduce you. Uh… Mom, dad, this is Seto Kaiba and this is his brother Mokuba," she said. Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi looked on in surprise but shook Seto's hand nonetheless.

"No, Kaiba, of course I haven't forgotten. You'll get your information. I also said that we would reward you for helping me. I there anything you want besides my information?" Maki asked him.

"Hold on, Maki. I think you're going ahead of yourself. Do you mind explaining to us what's going here?" Mr. Kaichi asked.

Maki tried her best to explain. "Well, I made a deal with Kaiba. If he helped me find you, we would give him a reward and I would give him some very valuable information."

"What kind of reward?" Mr. Kaichi asked.

"What kind of information?" Mrs. Kaichi added.

"We'll give him whatever we can offer as a reward and the information involves duel monsters," Maki answered.

Mr. Kaichi pulled Maki aside and whispered, "Maki, let's be serious now. You're talking about _the _Seto Kaiba. There is not much we can offer him."

"Maki, all I want now is my information. We can decide the matter of my reward later. I just want that information," Seto said, irritated by now.

Maki sighed.

"Very well… As I mentioned yesterday, there is a fifth Blue Eyes White Dragon card. The duelist who possesses this card is somewhere in Domino City. However, she keeps her identity a secret. No one knows who she is or what she looks like. No one has even heard of her. Only a select few have had the chance to duel her. The only way to lure her into your grasp is by setting a trap. I think a tournament will get her to come out of hiding."

"Good. Let's go, Mokuba."

"Yes, Seto." Mokuba got up from the chair and followed his brother as he headed for the door.

"Wait!" Maki called after them. "Let me help you set up the tournament. I know more about this mystery duelist than you do and this could be our payment for your help," Maki said, trying desperately to find some way to stay in contact with Seto.

"I'll think about it. Here," he took out a pen, wrote something on a small piece of paper, and handed it to her. "Call me tomorrow to make any necessary arrangements once I've given you my decision."

Maki walked with them to the limo. "Okay. Thank you again for your help. Bye!" she said and waited until they drove away to go back inside.

**TBC…**

So… Now that Maki's finally found her parents, what is she going to do? Please Review…


	8. Not Enough Room

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh… I simply own Maki and Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi.

Thank you guys for the lovely reviews! And Thanks to those who reviewed "Life At My House"! It's reached 200 Reviews!

**Chapter 8 – Not Enough Room**

"We're so glad to finally have you home, Maki." Mrs. Kaichi said as she hugged Maki once again with tears of joy.

"Um… Yakima, we have a problem." Mr. Kaichi said.

"What problem, Morosou?"

"We don't have any room for Maki. We weren't exactly expecting her to be back. That's why we bought this house, so we could be alone."

"I guess we'll have to move again. Are you alright with that, Maki?" Mrs. Kaichi asked.

"Of course alright okay with it. In fact, I want to move to Domino. Please! There's something I need to do there," Maki said hopefully.

"Do something? What do you need to do in Domino?" Mrs. Kaichi asked.

"I'll explain later. Can we please move there?" Maki asked.

"Maki… We have time now. Please explain what it is you need to do," her father replied.

"I… can't… It's personal… You wouldn't understand…" Maki said.

"Why wouldn't we understand?" her mother asked.

Maki stared at the white rose in her hand. "It's complicated… too complicated."

"Maki, please stop being so vague and tell us where you've been all these years!" Mr. Kaichi exclaimed.

Maki continued staring at the white rose in her hand. She did not hear what her father said. She sighed. _'Rosenkreuz… Why couldn't you forgive me? I said I was sorry… I only did it because it was best for the war… Why couldn't you understand?'_

"Maki? Maki! MAKI!" Mrs. Kaichi shouted in desperation at seeing her daughter's solemn face.

"What? Uh… Oh, I'm sorry… Did you say something?" Maki asked.

"Are you alright, Maki? You seem distracted…" Mr. Kaichi pointed out.

"Distracted? No…" Maki said and shook her head. "Please, can we _please_ move to Domino?" she asked with emphasis on the 'please.'

"Well," her father said, forgetting that Maki still hadn't told them where she was. "We have to find someplace that's available there. Did you see any available homes while you were there, Maki?" Mr. Kaichi asked.

"No. I wasn't really paying attention. Uh…" Maki said and thought. _'Now what? Hmm…' _"Why don't we just look for ourselves?" Maki asked.

"Well… I guess we could…" Mrs. Kaichi said.

"Great! We should leave now if we want to get there on time," she said as she walked towards them.

The two adults looked at each other with concerned looks on their faces.

"Uh, Maki dear, are you alright?" Mrs. Kaichi asked calmly.

"Huh? Of course, I'm all right. Why do you ask?"

"Maki, you've been gone for three years. You just got home and you want to go to Domino? Can't you at least tell us where you were, first?" Mr. Kaichi asked.

"Well, I uh… hmm." Maki closed her eyes and started thinking. _'I can't tell you where I was, at least not yet. So much has happened since that fateful day when I was taken to that other dimension… Seto…' _(By the way, she is not referring to Seto as in the Seto we all know… This is the _other _Seto… She also refers to him as Rosenkreuz…)

"Maki?" Mrs. Kaichi tapped her on the shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry," Maki said as she shook her head fiercely. She faked a laugh and ran to the door. "Come on, we can't be late! Let's go!"

Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi looked at each other again with an even more concerned look and followed their daughter out the door.

They were all quiet on the two-hour ride to Domino City. Mrs. Kaichi kept looking at Maki who was sitting in the backseat. Maki didn't look at her parents at all. She stared out the window and occasionally fingered the badge on her black denim jacket. Mrs. Kaichi wanted to ask Maki where she had gotten the beautiful badge but she was afraid that Maki would not answer her.

'_I just can't believe how long it's been. My Maki is seventeen-years-old. I wonder how much she has changed. I wonder what she has been through. I wonder if she has made any friends. She always was quite a loner; never bothered to make friends. I think it might have even been on purpose…'_ Mrs. Kaichi thought.

They made it to Domino and drove around. They tried searching for any sings that said, "For Sale."

After about two hours or so of driving around, they decided to take a break and stretch. They just so happened to stop right at the entrance to Domino Park. They got out of the car and went inside the park to relax for a bit. Maki headed straight for the swings. They had always been her favorite part of a park and she always went on the swings back home.

It just so happened that Yugi, Joey, Tea, Mai, and Serenity were all there, along with three other boys whom Maki had not met yet.

Maki stopped right in her tracks. She wanted to go on the swings but she did not want them to see her.

'_No… I can't let them see me… They already know my name and they might want me to be their friend… I can't let that happen… I can't… No… I can't have any friends…' _Maki thought.

"Hmm? Hey, look! It's Maki!" Tea exclaimed.

'_No! They saw me! Now what?' _Maki thought.

The gang walked over to her.

"Hi Maki! How are you?" Tea asked with a smile.

"Uh…" Maki replied.

"Hey there, girl. Your stuff is still at my place. Where'd you go?" Mai asked.

"Oh… Well… Um… Se- Kaiba found my parents. He took me to them," Maki replied.

"You found your parents? That's great Maki!" Serenity exclaimed.

"Yeah… uh…" Maki mumbled.

"Are these friends of yours, Maki?" Mrs. Kaichi asked as she walked up behind her daughter.

**TBC…**

Only one person sent in a drawing of Maki… But it's okay… Oh well… Anyway, I'm going to redraw mine. I hope you liked this chapter. I know it wasn't much, but it did get into the fact that Maki doesn't want to have any friends. Why? Find out on the next chapter of "The Rose Duelist"… Please Review.


	9. Betrayal of a Friend

"The Rose Duelist"

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh… I simply own Maki and Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi.

**Warning: **This chapter is kind of sad. Sorry about this, but I had to make Maki's past a sad one. It was the only way to explain why Maki is so afraid of making friends. This never actually happened to me, I guess I just have a pretty good imagination.

**Chapter 9 - Betrayal of a Friend**

"What? Err… Well… Uh…" Maki stuttered. _'No… I don't want friends… I don't need friends… I've never had any real friends, and frankly, I'm better off without any…' _she thought.

…**Flashback…**

It was Maki's first day of First Grade. (She had gone to Kindergarten but she was very shy and had not made any friends.)

Once Maki walked into the classroom and sat down for her first day of school, a nice little girl of the same age in her class walked up to her.

"Hello. My name is Crystal Takinawa," the little girl said and smiled.

"Hi. I'm Maki," said girl replied.

"Do you want to be my friend?" Crystal asked.

"Well… Okay!" Maki said excitedly and the two immediately became inseparable, that is, until…

By third grade, Maki had become quite overweight and people were starting to pick on her. One person in particular was Crystal's older brother who was three years older and in the same school.

He would always pick on her and he was very cruel to her. Many times, he would snatch her book bag and run off with it. He forced her to run after him and he would always run for more than five blocks. (City blocks…)

"Please! Rick! Stop! Give..." Maki shouted after him as she tried to catch up to him, "me... back my... book bag..."

"Nope! Still got a few more blocks to go, fatty!" Rick Takinawa shouted back.

After running for three more blocks, Rick dropped the book bag and ran back to school to pick up his sister. Maki fell on her knees as soon as she reached her book bag and started to cry.

"Why is he so mean to me? Why is everyone so mean to me?" she and walked back to school, crying.

"Maki? Where were you? Your father and I were worried about you!" Mrs. Kaichi exclaimed as Maki was walking back.

Maki kept her head down so her parents would not see her cry.

"Maki? Are you alright?" her father asked.

"Yes daddy, I'm fine..." Maki tried to say in a cheerful mood as she quietly cried and her parents gave her strange looks.

Once they got home, Maki went straight to her room.

However, her parents called her into the living room a few minutes later. Maki desperately tried to dry her eyes and she stepped out.

"Happy Birthday!" her parents exclaimed and held out a cute pink cake that said the words "Happy Birthday Maki!" on it.

"Huh?" Maki asked in confusion. She had forgotten that it was her birthday.

Her parents gave her an adorable star plushie for her birthday. She instantly loved it and decided to carry it with her wherever she. Little did she know that that was not a good idea.

The next day, all the students where out in the school playground for last period. (I don't know if any schools actually do this, but just pretend…) While all the other school kids played catch, jump rope, or any of those other fun activities, Maki quietly sat in the corner of the playground holding her star plushie.

Unfortunately for her, Rick and a few of his friends walked up to her to pick on her as usual.

"Well, well... What do we have here? Miss Piggy has a stuffed star..." Rick said and took the star plushie.

"No! Give it back, Rick!" Maki shouted.

"Meh... I don't think so..." Rick said and threw the star plushie halfway across the playground.

Maki got up to get it, but the group of boys stopped her.

"Maki!" Crystal shouted and ran up to her friend.

"Crystal, please tell your brother to stop picking on me," Maki said with hopeful eyes.

"What? Rick, leave her alone!" Crystal shouted at her older brother.

"Ew... You mean to tell me that your cute little sister is actually friends with this girl?" one of Rick's friends asked him.

Unfortunately, Crystal had a huge crush on this boy. She had gotten past the 'boys are icky' stage.

"Stay out of this, sis," Rick said to his younger sister.

"No! She's my friend!" Crystal shouted.

"Hmph! I thought you said your sister was cool," Rick's friend said.

"Uh… I… But…" Crystal stuttered.

"She is… or at least I thought she was," Rick commented.

Crystal always looked up to her older brother. _'If he doesn't think Maki is cool… What should I do?' _she thought.

"Hey… I wonder how she'll look once we chop off that hair of hers," Rick's friend suggested.

"Good idea, Sujiro…" Rick said and pulled out a pair of scissors.

"What-what are going to do?" Maki asked fearfully.

It just so happened that they were all in the corner that was all the way on the OTHER side of the playground so the teachers could not see them.

"Hold still. We just want to give you a nice little haircut," Rick said with a playful smirk as he held up the scissors.

Maki eyes started to heat up. She was about to cry. Rick and his small group of friends crowded around Maki, who was sitting on the ground.

"Crystal, please help me," Maki said with hope. It was pointless. Crystal just stood there, unsure of what to do. If she helped Maki, her brother and his "cute" friend would think she was lame. On the other hand, if she did not help Maki, she would lose a friend.

"Crystal, please!" Maki exclaimed.

The four boys picked at her hair as Rick randomly cut off big chunks of it. Maki fought back the tears. She stared at the ground as the boys tortured her. (Boy, kids can be so mean!)

After what seemed like years, they boys let go of her hair and looked at her head in admiration.

"Well, at least people will stare at her head now, rather than her fat," one of the boys said.

"You should be thankful, Maki. We just did you a favor," Rick said and smirked.

The four boys laughed and walked off in all their malicious glory.

Maki looked around her. She was covered in hair – her hair. She touched her head to feel the remains of the boys' wrongdoing. There was hardly anything left. It looked like a boy haircut.

Crystal stared wide-eyed at the sight. There was hair all around. She spotted Maki's star plushie and she went to retrieve it.

"Um… Here you go Maki," Crystal said and held out the star plushie.

Maki looked up, her eyes shining with tears. She took the star plushie, clutched it tightly and put her head down.

"Maki, are you okay?" Crystal asked.

Maki screamed out in sadness and started crying loudly.

"Uh…" Crystal trailed off.

"Why didn't you help me?" Maki asked, but it came out muffled.

"What?" Crystal asked. She did not hear what Maki had asked.

"YOU DIDN'T HELP ME!" Maki shouted as her head shot up, tears streaming down her face.

"I… uh…" Crystal mumbled.

"Why Crystal? WHY? I thought you were my friend! WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP ME?" Maki screamed. She looked so unnatural. She was so angry and upset at the same time. She never cried like this before. This was the last straw for her. Crystal was her only friend, and she just stood there while her brother tortured Maki.

"Maki, I'm sorr-"

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! NEVER! I HATE YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU'RE NOT MY FRIEND ANYMORE!" Maki screamed angrily and cried loudly.

The teachers all heard the commotion and were on their way to see what had happened. They all gasped in horror at the sight. They saw the hair spread around the ground and chunks of it on the poor child that was crying in the corner that they could not identify anymore.

"Crystal?" one of the teachers spoke up. "What happened here? Who is-Is that Maki?" the teacher asked.

Crystal nodded, her own eyes filling up with tears from what Maki had just shouted at her.

Maki continued crying loudly; it took the teachers quite a while to get her to calm down. In all their efforts to stop her crying, she would not stop. She quieted down, but she did not stop crying. She had to stay in the guidance counselor's office until her parents could pick her up.

Crystal continued crying softly to herself. She was also in the guidance counselor's office. She could not bring herself to look at Maki. She felt guilty. She had let her friend down. Crystal was Maki's only friend, and she let her down.

…**End Flashback…**

'_It's been a while since I thought about that… It was such a long time ago, and yet, it still hurts… I will not let myself be betrayed again. I refuse to make any friends. I have learned my lesson. I was meant to be alone…' _Maki thought to herself and tightly clenched her fists as if she wanted to punch something. She wanted to hurt something, anything as long as she could get rid of that horrible memory.

"Maki? Are you alright? Maki?" her mother asked.

"Hmm… Is it just me, or does she tend to space out often?" Mai asked.

"It sure looks like it," Yugi stated.

"Maki? Maki! MAKI!" her father desperately shouted into her ear.

"GAH! Huh? Oh, dad. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to space out on you like that," Maki replied and forced a smile.

Everyone looked at her with concerned faces.

"Are you alright Maki?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" Maki trailed off, shook her head, and forced another smile.

"So… Are these friends of yours Maki?" Mrs. Kaichi asked again.

Maki's smile faded. _'What should I say? I can't say that they're my friends. I don't want any friends! But… what can I say? Damn it, Maki, think! Think!'_

**TBC…**

Well, I guess you all didn't expect THAT did you? Don't think so. I can relate to some of this… I can't tell you what, but I have an idea how Maki feels. Anyway, Please Review. This is my most cherished story even if it isn't the most popular. I'm already thinking up ideas for the sequel. Well, bye!


	10. Help and Insecurities

"The Rose Duelist"

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh… I simply own Maki and Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi.

Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I felt sorry for Maki too… But hey, you can't call her a Mary Sue now, can you? Nope nope nope…

**Chapter 10 – Help and Insecurities…**

"Maki, are you sure you're alright?" Tea asked.

Maki was still deep ion thought. That is, until she noticed Tristan and Ryou. They were not with Yugi and the others the last time she saw them.

"Hey, aren't you Tristan Taylor?" Maki asked, ignoring Tea's question.

"Uh… Yeah," Tristan replied.

"I thought so. I believe you're Ryou Bakura?" Maki asked Ryou.

Ryou nodded and shook her hand.

"Boy, Maki. You know them, too?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah, sort of," Maki replied.

"How? I don't remember ever meeting you before," Tristan stated.

"Well, I uh… I just know these things," Maki said and her gaze wandered around.

Duke stared at her intently. _'Hey, she's pretty cute…' _Duke thought.

"Do you know who I am?" asked Duke.

"Uh, no," Maki replied.

"What?" he asked as he fell, anime-style. Everyone laughed, with the exception of Maki and her parents. They did not understand.

"This is-" Tea began but Duke interrupted her.

"I'm Duke Devlin. Nice to meet you, beautiful," he said as he winked at Maki.

"Um… hi. I'm Maki Kaichi," she said.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Maki," Ryou said as he smiled.

"Same here," added Tristan. _'Hmm… Duke seems to like her. I hope this means he's going to leave Serenity to me!'_

"Well, we'd better get going," Maki said, trying to get away from the large group of Yugi and his friends.

"Why are you leaving so soon, Maki?" Serenity asked.

"Well, err…"

"Hey, you kids wouldn't happen to know if there are any houses for sale in this city, would you?" Mr. Kaichi asked.

"Not really, but we could help you look if you'd like," Tea suggested.

"Thank you. We would really appreciate that," Mrs. Kaichi said.

'_What? No! I don't want them to help… Do my parents really think they're my friends?'_ Maki thought.

"Alright then, you guys up for helping Maki and her parents?" Tea asked the gang.

"Sure! Joey and I will help," replied Serenity.

"Count me in," added Tristan.

"We'll all help you, Maki," Yugi said.

Mai immediately took charge. "Okay, then, let's split up. Yugi and Tea, you guys search that way; Serenity and Joey, you search that way; Tristan, Duke and Ryou, you search that way, and I'll search that way with Maki and her parents," Mai said as she pointed out the four different directions.

'_Wait! Don't I get a say in this? I don't need any help! I don't want any help! I can search on my own! Why do they keep trying to be my friends?'_ Maki thought.

"Well, let's go Maki," Mrs. Kaichi said and put her arm around Maki's shoulder.

"Huh? Oh… Sure…" Maki said and followed reluctantly.

They all split up and went their separate ways. Duke of course, took one last look at Maki before he followed Tristan and Ryou. The Kaichis left the car where it was and followed Mai.

'_Wow… I can't believe Maki has so many friends. I never thought I'd see the day when she would even have one friend, let alone eight or nine,'_ thought Mrs. Kaichi. Boy is she seriously wrong.

'_Why are they helping me? Do they really want to be my friends? But I- NO! I can't let that happen. I can't have friends. I can't. I can't trust anyone. The only person I can trust is myself. I've learned my lesson. Twice…' _Maki thought.

"May I ask what your job is, Mr. Kaichi," Mai asked.

"I'm a computer technician," he replied.

"Then I'm sure you can find a job here easily," Mai said. "As you can see, Domino is a very big city with many job opportunities."

"Do you like living in Domino, Mai?" Mrs. Kaichi asked.

"Yes. There are many things to see. I'm sure you will enjoy living here, Mrs. Kaichi." Mai looked over at Maki. She had taken the white rose out of her hair and was now fidgeting with it. She touched it ever so gently. Her mind was in another place; she looked like a walking zombie.

"Maki, girl, are you okay? You've been carrying that rose with you everywhere and now you're staring at it as if your life depended on it," Mai said.

"What? Oh, I uh…" Maki faked a laugh and immediately turned to stare at the ground. "I'm fine," she said and gently put the white rose back in her hair.

'_Hmm… She doesn't seem fine to me,' _Mai thought._ 'She always seems to be thinking. I wonder what could've happened to her to make her like this. I've only just met her, but I've never known anyone who is as spaced out as she is. Not only that, she always looks so sad, as if she's been seriously hurt emotionally. I barely know her, but I feel sorry for her. She reminds me of how lonely I used to be.'_

After a while, they reached a tremendous mansion behind beautiful silver gates. It was unlike anything Maki had ever seen before. It surely was a lot bigger than the Valentine estate.

Mrs. Kaichi gasped at the sight. "Wow! What a beautiful mansion! I wonder who it belongs to."

Maki had not been paying attention, so she looked up when her mother gasped. Maki's eyes widened and she gasped as well. _'Wow… It's almost as amazing as the castle in England…'_ Maki thought and sighed.

"That's Kaiba's place," Mai said. "Come on let's go."

They started to walk away to continue searching for any homes on sale. Well, at least Mai, Mr. Kaichi and Mrs. Kaichi did. Maki was still standing in front of the gates to the Kaiba mansion. She just could not take her eyes off it.

"Hmm? Maki?" Mrs. Kaichi asked and looked back at her daughter.

"Come on Maki, we have to go," Mr. Kaichi said.

"What? Oh, sorry… Coming," Maki said and followed them.

"Maki! Wait!" someone shouted from behind them.

**TBC…**

So… Who called out Maki's name? Find out on the next chapter of "The Rose Duelist"! Please Review! I love getting reviews. They give me motivation. **By the way, I posted my pictures of Maki. I have two pictures up so far. I'm going to try to work on more. Anyway, the links for the pictures are in my profile where Maki's bio is...**


	11. Mokuba's Help

"The Rose Duelist"

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… I only own Maki and Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi.

**Chapter 11 – Mokuba's Help…**

"Maki! Wait!" someone shouted from behind them. The voice was that of a young boy.

"Hmm?" Maki asked and looked back to see who it was.

It was Mokuba...

"Hello, Maki!" he greeted as he ran up to her.

"Oh, hi Mokuba," Maki said and waved hello.

"Hey, what are you doing here, Maki? I thought you were going to spend some time alone with your parents," Mokuba said.

"Yeah, well, it turns out that my parents don't have any room for me. I thought we should find a place as soon as possible. I want to move here to Domino, so we're looking around for something that is available," Maki explained.

"That's great! Can I help?" Mokuba asked politely.

"Well, I uh... No, that's okay," Maki replied.

"Aw, come on, Maki. Please?" Mokuba asked with his adorable puppy face.

"I guess..." Maki replied. She could not say no to such an adorable little kid.

"Great! Michael, take us all to Kaiba Corp, please," he said to his driver.

"Kaiba Corp? Oh no, Mokuba, we shouldn't disturb your brother. I'm sure he's very busy," Maki said.

"Don't worry Maki. Seto won't mind. He'll help you if we ask him nicely.

"But..." Maki began to protest.

"I insist. Come on, Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi. Hi Mai," Mokuba greeted and signaled for them to get into the limo.

"..." Maki could not say anything else, so she followed along and went inside the limo.

"I think you should all stay here. I'll go up with Mokuba to see if Se- uh Kaiba will be willing to help us," Maki said once they got there.

They nodded and stayed in the limo while Maki followed Mokuba inside the Kaiba Corp. building.

Mokuba and Maki went up to the top floor and walked up to the secretary.

"We're here to see my brother," Mokuba said.

"Yes Young Sir," the secretary said and beeped Seto on the intercom to let him know they were here.

They walked into Seto's office and Mokuba ran up to him. Maki stayed at the door. She looked on with interest. His eyes were on his computer. _'He looks so much like Rosenkreuz… I love Rosenkreuz… but… I'll never see him again… Perhaps I could… fall in love with this Seto… First, I'll need to find out more about him… He may look the same, but there can still be a lot of differences between them…'_

"What are you doing here, Mokuba? I thought you were going to stay home," Seto said. He did not notice Maki at the door.

"Hello big brother! Guess who I ran into today?" Mokuba asked with a smile.

"Who?" Seto asked; his eyes once again glued to his computer.

Mokuba sighed. "Look up Seto."

Seto looked up, away from his computer and saw a shadowy figure standing by the door. Even though it was daytime, the room was dark, shadowed by dark curtains that only let in a small stream of light.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there? I refuse to speak to a shadow," Seto stated harshly.

Maki cleared her throat and walked out of the shadows and up to his desk.

"Hi, Mr. Kaiba," she said and bowed slightly.

"I thought I told you to call me tomorrow," Seto said, his eyes back on his computer.

"I know, but… well…" she trailed off. She did not like asking people for help and he had already helped her enough already.

"Maki wants to move to Domino, Seto. Her parents are looking for a home and I thought maybe you could help them," Mokuba explained.

"What?" Seto asked even though he heard what Mokuba said.

"I'm so sorry to bother you. I'll understand if you don't want to help," Maki said with her head down.

"Aww, come on Maki, Seto will help. Please Seto?" Mokuba asked sweetly.

Seto printed something out from the computer and held it out in front of Maki.

"Here," Seto said.

Maki looked up and took the paper. It was a list of one family houses for sale all over Domino.

"I uh… Thank you," Maki said as she looked at the list.

"Whatever. Just call me as soon as you are settled. I still haven't decided whether or not to hold a tournament," Seto simply said and his eyes moved back to the computer screen.

"I will. Thank you," Maki said and turned to leave.

"Bye Seto! I'll see you later," Mokuba said and followed Maki out the door.

…

"Wow! This is great Maki!" Mrs. Kaichi exclaimed as she looked at the list when Maki and Mokuba returned.

"Well, where should go first?" Mokuba asked.

"Hmm… This one sounds good," Mr. Kaichi said and pointed to one of the addresses on the list. Mokuba nodded and told his driver where to go.

They decided to look at a few homes before they could make their final decision. They finally picked the perfect home. It was a in a perfect spot – not too far from Kaiba Corp. or the park. It was also a short distance from Domino High School, where Maki would attend once autumn came by. Another benefit was that they could move in right away, which meant that they could move in the next day.

Once they were finished with some paperwork that they had to do, they drove back to the park. Everyone else was already there.

"Hey! How did it go? Did you find a place?" Tea asked. Mai nodded.

"That's great!" Serenity exclaimed.

"Well, we should go now. I'm tired. I'd like to take a nap," Maki said, once again trying to avoid socializing with Yugi and his friends.

"Oh! Don't forget to pick up your things at my place," Mai said and Maki nodded.

"Thanks Mokuba," Maki said and smiled.

"No problem."

Everyone said their goodbyes and the Kaichi family went into their car. They stopped by Mai's estate to pick up the things that Maki had bought and then they drove back home. Well, it would not be their home for much longer. They were going to move to Domino the next day.

…

"Where would you like to sleep tonight Maki?" Mrs. Kaichi asked once they arrived home.

"The couch is fine for me," she replied.

"Wouldn't that be uncomfortable?" Mr. Kaichi asked.

Maki plopped down on the couch. "No, it's okay." _'I've slept in more uncomfortable places anyway… With the war, I had to sleep on the ground… Once, I even had to use a pile of leaves as a pillow…'_ she thought.

"Well alright, but if you feel the least bit uncomfortable, let me know," Mrs. Kaichi said.

"Yes mom," Maki replied and turned over to take a nap. She had not had one in a long time, but she was tired from searching around Domino all day.

Her parents smiled as she slept peacefully.

…

Later, at midnight…

…

Maki twitched as she slept. _'No! Please! Don't hurt me! I'll hand over one of my white rose cards, but please let me go!'_

She started sweating and her body continued twitching. _'Rosenkreuz! Help me! Please!'_

She started sweating more and started breathing heavily. _'Agh! NO! PLEASE DON'T! NO!'_

**TBC…**

So… The Kaichi family found a place to live. Will Maki be okay? Find out on the next chapter! Thank you so much for your reviews! I really do appreciate them!


	12. Scars and Memories

"The Rose Duelist"

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… I only own Maki and Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi.

**SPECIAL NOTE: Some of you were a little confused by the last chapter. Let me just explain a few things. First, when I said the Kaichis could move in the next day, I meant that they could START moving the next day. They have to pack their things first. Thanks to Bunnyfluff for making me realize my little mistake there... Second, I am sure many of you are confused about Maki's past. I am sure you all got confused when I mentioned the 'white rose card', unless you have actually played the game. Do not worry, I PROMISE Maki's past will become clear as the story goes on. I am sorry for the confusion but I cannot reveal her past now because it would ruin the plot if you all knew. Anyway, thank you so much for being loyal and reading this story. You people are the best!**

**Chapter 12 - Scars and Memories…**

'_NO! Let him go! Don't you dare hurt him! NO!'_

Maki woke up, sweating. She shot up and gasped for breath. Her breathing calmed down after a short while. She wiped the sweat off her face.

'_Phew… It was just a dream, or rather, a nightmare…'_ she thought and sighed in relief.

All the sweating made her hot, so she took off her jacket.

'_Rosenkreuz… I… I saved your life that time… The Lancastrians had captured me… You came to save me… but… you were almost killed… If I hadn't pushed you out of the way… Who knows what would've happened…'_

Maki groaned and buried her head into her hands for a minute. She then looked down and slowly lifted her shirt midway to reveal her stomach. There, on her stomach, was a scar just two inches above her belly button. It was quite wide; it stretched far across her stomach. That scar was one of the battle scars she received in the Rose War. She had two others - one on her right thigh and the other on her back, merely an inch from her right shoulder.

She ran her finger across the scar, which she received when a sword slashed across her stomach. She received the other two scars at other times and by different weapons. She sighed again, pulled her shirt back down and thought back to her dream.

'_Rosenkreuz… I got that scar because I saved you…' _she thought and winced as she remembered the horrifying pain she experienced when that sword slashed across her stomach.

"Maki? Are you all right? I thought I heard you struggling in your sleep," Mrs. Kaichi whispered as she slowly took a few steps into the living room.

"What? Oh… No mom, I'm… fine. It was just a nightmare," Maki replied.

Her mother gave her a concerned look. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. No, that's alright. I just need some sleep."

"Are sure you don't want to talk about it?" her mother asked with concern.

Maki simply nodded and lied back down on the couch to sleep. It was quite dark in the room, so Mrs. Kaichi could not see the scar on Maki's shoulder. If she had, she would have asked about it. She stared at her daughter's shadowy form for a minute before she retreated to her room.

"Is everything alright, Yakima?" Mr. Kaichi asked as his wife walked in.

Mrs. Kaichi shook her head. "No. Morosou, I have a horrible feeling our Maki is hiding something from us, and it's not something good. I'm worried about her."

Mr. Kaichi took his wife into his arms and gently kissed her forehead. "Don't fret, Yakima. Once we get settled in Domino, she'll be sure to tell us everything."

"I hope so, Morosou… I hope so."

…

The next morning, Maki was the first one up. She yawned and stretched. The she realized she did not have her jacket on and if her parents saw the scar on her shoulder it would raise many unwanted questions. She quickly pulled her jacket on and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. She looked the living room when someone touched her shoulder.

"AGH!" Maki screamed and turned to see her father. "Oh, dad, it's just you. Good morning," Maki greeted her father after he nearly scared her to death.

"Your mother told me you had trouble sleeping last night. Is there anything you'd like to tell us?" he asked.

"I… Well…" Maki mumbled and her eyes wandered around the room, away from her father. They landed on a pile of boxes that had not been there the day before; at least Maki did not remember them being there the day before.

"Hmm? What's that?" she asked and walked over to the boxes.

"Oh, they're just some old boxes with your old things. We never threw anything out just in case you ever came back to us," Mrs. Kaichi answered as she walked into the living room.

"Oh… Speaking of which, when do we start packing?" Maki asked.

"You sure are in a rush to move to Domino," Mrs. Kaichi said.

Maki chuckled. "I guess we should have breakfast first. Hey mom, think you can still make those delicious homemade blueberry pancakes of yours?"

"Of course…"

None of the three Kaichis spoke much after that. Mr. Kaichi read the morning paper and drank some coffee while his wife made blueberry pancakes. Maki settled down on the couch to watch television.

'_Wow… It's been a while since I've watched TV…' Maki thought._

She picked a random channel - Nickelodeon. 'Fairly Oddparents' was on. It was quite funny. It was the episode when Timmy tried to make money to buy tickets for 'Crash Nebula on Ice.' Maki actually laughed a few times, at which her parents would look up and admire that laugh that they had not heard from their daughter in years.

The Kaichis did not speak much during breakfast either. Mr. Kaichi continued looking through the newspaper for a job in Domino - hopefully one that was close to their new house.

"So, shall we start packing?" Maki asked once she and her parents were finished with breakfast.

"Sure…" her mother replied with a smile.

They worked for hours, packing things into boxes, clearing out everything. They would occasionally stop to take a break, but they spent most of the day packing. They finally finished around 2:00 AM in the morning and decided to call the moving trucks after they got some sleep.

…

Morning…

"_Miss Kaichi! RUN!" someone shouted._

"…_but what about the red rose card?" Maki asked._

"_We can get it later! RUN!" the person shouted again._

_Maki ran as fast as she could away from the ruthless fighting that was happening around her. She headed towards a lake at the bottom of a hill. She was almost there when a soldier grabbed her, pulled her into his grasp and before she could escape, he lodged a knife into her right thigh._

"NO!" Maki screamed and shot up from the couch. Her eyes were wide with fear and she was breathing rather heavily. She started shivering and her heart was beating fast. She brought her knees up to her chest and she buried her head into them.

Having a knife lodged in her thigh was not as painful as when the sword slashed across her stomach. It was the fact that she kept having nightmares that scared her practically to death.

"Why do I keep having these dreams?" she asked under her breath.

"Maki? What happened? We heard you scream!" Mrs. Kaichi asked with worry as she practically sprinted into the living room.

Maki could not hear her; she still had her head buried into her knees.

"Maki? MAKI! Maki, speak to us!" Mr. Kaichi shouted.

Maki's breathing started to calm down, but she was still quaking.

Mrs. Kaichi ran to her daughter and sat behind her back. "Honey, what's wrong? What happened? PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!" she yelled in desperation.

**TBC…**

Well, Maki's past is starting to unfold little by little. I hope you liked the chapter… and yes, Maki has three scars… Notice the name of the chapter. By the way, pretty much everything that was in italics in this chapter isMaki's dream.Anyway, please review. Thanks so much for reading this story! I take a lot of pride in this one.


	13. Moving Day

"The Rose Duelist"

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… I only own Maki, Mr., and Mrs. Kaichi.

HI! Today (June 24, 2005) is the one-year anniversary of the day I joined Thanks to you people, I have reached a grand 1,208 reviews this year with nine stories. However, I did have three stories deleted so I might have had a few more, but that is okay. You guys are the best! Thank you all so much for reading my stories; I enjoy writing them. To celebrate my anniversary, I am posting the next chapter of the first story I posted on this site, The Rose Duelist. (Not counting the first two times "Whose Line" was deleted for being in script form.)

**Chapter 13 – Moving Day…**

"MAKI! Maki, what's wrong?" Mrs. Kaichi asked and put her arms on her daughter's shoulders.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME! LET ME GO!" Maki screamed and tried to jump off the couch, but in her attempt to get away, she tripped over her mother's legs and landed on the floor, face forward, with a thump.

"MAKI! MAKI, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Mrs. Kaichi screamed.

Maki started sobbing on the floor, not from pain, but rather from fear.

"Maki, what's wrong? Why did you scream at your mother?" Mr. Kaichi asked.

Maki continued sobbing on the floor and buried her face into the carpet.

"Maki Kaichi, speak to us!" Mrs. Kaichi demanded.

"Huh? What?" Maki asked and pushed herself up to sit up on the floor. "Mom? Dad? Oh, it's you…"

"Of course it's us. Who did you think we were?" Mr. Kaichi asked.

"Uhh… No one… Never mind. I'm sorry. Uh… Did I just yell at you?" Maki asked.

"Maki, tell us what's wrong!" Mr. Kaichi demanded.

"Um, excuse me…" Maki said and walked off to the bathroom.

…

Maki sighed and washed her face. She pulled up her right shorts leg to look at her knife scar. She thought back to her dream.

…

_When the soldier stabbed her right thigh, Maki howled in pain, elbowed the soldier in the stomach, turned around and kicked him in the shin with her left leg._

"_MISS KAICHI! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" the person from before asked frantically._

"_Sort of…" Maki replied._

"_It's not safe for you to be here!" the person said as she ran up to Maki. She had long raven hair that went past her shoulders. "However, we can't transport you out of here."_

"_Ishizu, what do I do?" Maki asked._

"…_The lake! Hide in the lake," the person, now known as Ishizu whispered to Maki._

"_What? What do you-AGH!" Ishizu interrupted Maki by pushing her off the hill. Maki rolled down the hill, into the lake at the bottom._

"_I'm sorry Miss Maki, but we can't afford to lose you," Ishizu said and ran off into the continuing battle._

…

Maki fixed her shorts and walked out of the bathroom.

"Maki! Are you alright now, dear?" Mrs. Kaichi asked as Maki walked up to her parents.

"I'm… fine mom. It was just a nightmare."

"Oh no. Young woman, you are going to tell us right now, what is wrong. You've been spacing out a lot and now you just had a nightmare that scared you practically to death! Please tell us what's wrong!" Mr. Kaichi demanded.

"I… can't. I'm not ready yet. I promise I will someday, but right now, you wouldn't understand. It's… complicated. I think I just need some rest now," Maki said as she lay down on the couch.

"Well… I guess it is late. Maki, aren't you hot in that jacket? Why don't you take it off?" Mrs. Kaichi asked as she reached for the jacket.

"NO!" Maki screamed and clutched her jacket tightly around her. Her parents gave her a quizzical look. "Um… I mean, uh… No, that's fine. I want to keep it on." _'I can't let them see my scar…'_

Her parents gave her another questioning look but said nothing and retreated to their room after saying goodnight to Maki.

…

Maki managed to sleep without another dreadful nightmare. The next morning the Kaichi family ate breakfast and gathered the last bit of their belongings while they waited for the moving truck to come.

The ride to Domino was quiet and uneventful. No one spoke; no one mentioned anything that happened the night before. Maki stared out the window during the whole trip and watched the blur of trees and buildings as they drove by with the moving truck only a few feet behind their car.

They had left around three o'clock and they reached Domino around five o'clock.

"Well, we're here. This is our new home," Mr. Kaichi announced.

When they stepped out of the car, Maki walked up to her parents.

"Would it be alright if I went to the park for a while? I would like to help you unpack but I need some time to think," Maki requested.

"You mean… alone?" Mrs. Kaichi asked.

"Yes… May I go?" Maki asked.

"We'd rather you stay with us, Maki," Mr. Kaichi replied.

"We couldn't bear it if we lost you again!" Mrs. Kaichi added.

"Mom, I always went to the park alone when I was younger. Nothing ever happened to me."

"Perhaps… but Domino is a much bigger city. Not to mention everyone knew who you were, back home," Mrs. Kaichi explained.

"Yes, but… It's just that… I really need some time alone… to think… Please?" Maki begged.

"Well…" Mrs. Kaichi said.

"Fine… Take your mother's cell phone. If anything happens, call mine. My number is in her phone book," Mr. Kaichi said.

"Morosou," Mrs. Kaichi began to complain but Mr. Kaichi held up a hand.

"I think we'd better give her the time. I think she needs it," Mr. Kaichi said.

Mrs. Kaichi still wanted to protest but she whipped out her cell phone ad gave it to Maki nonetheless.

"Thank you… Don't worry, I promise I'll call if anything happens. I'm not sure when I'll be back, so don't worry about me," Maki said as she took the cell phone, put it in her pocket and walked off.

"Do you think it was a good idea to let her wander off alone?" Mrs. Kaichi asked worriedly.

"I don't know, Yakima. She did make it on her own for three years. She seems to be healthy and I think she can survive one day at the park."

"I hope so…"

…

When Maki reached Domino Park, she immediately walked over to the swings and sat down. She played on the swings for a while and then slowed down to a stop. The cool summer breeze blew her hair in different directions. A small group of kids ran past her and into the sandbox while their parents sat down on the park benches. An old couple walked by eating ice cream cones. Maki sighed deeply and looked up at the sky.

'_It's been such a long time since I've seen a day this nice before. Everything is so calm and peaceful. Everyone looks so happy as if they hadn't a care in the world,' _Maki thought. _'In the three years I was gone… all I saw was a sea of blood, fire, grayish skies. Everywhere I went… it was a battlefield…'_

Maki glanced around the park and she froze as she saw a group of people walking towards her.

'_No! Not them! Are they following me? Why do I keep running into them?'_ Maki thought.

"Hmm? Hey, look! Isn't that Maki?" Tea asked.

"Yeah, I think it is," Yugi replied.

"Cool! Her family is done moving already?" Serenity wondered aloud.

"Let's go ask her," Tristan said and the group walked up to Maki who remained frozen on the swings.

"Hello, Maki!" Tea greeted.

**TBC…**

Well, I hope you liked that chapter. A little more of Maki's past in there… What will Maki say to Yugi and Co.? Find out on the next chapter of "The Rose Duelist." Please Review. You people are great!


	14. Cold Words

"The Rose Duelist"

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… I only own Maki, Mr., and Mrs. Kaichi.

HELLO! I posted **THREE** more Maki pictures today! You have to look at Maki's bio in my profile… Yes! I now have SIX pictures in total! I hope you like them. It took me a while to do them. I am going to draw a few more… and you can expect two of them with Seto in them! Then I will color them all. Well, here is the next chapter. This one might be a bit surprising. Thanks to **Hikaru Hayashi** for the bit of help for the idea for this chapter.

**Chapter 14 - Cold Words…**

"Um… hi…" Maki greeted back.

"We didn't expect to see you here so soon, Maki. Did you and your parents get settled into your new home already?" Serenity asked.

"Sort of… We just got here a few minutes ago…" Maki replied reluctantly. _'Why do they keep talking to me? I just want to be alone right now!'_

Duke took a seat in the swing next to Maki. Maki tensed up a little.

"Well, I think I can speak for all of us when I say I hope you enjoy living here," Tea said and stood up straight as if she was making a speech.

Maki sighed exasperatedly. "…Thanks…"

"Hey, Maki, Yugi here is going to have a party for all of us," Tristan stated.

"Yeah, and friends are invited," Joey added.

"Friends?" Maki wondered aloud.

"Yes, we consider you a friend," Ryou said and smiled sweetly.

Mai put a hand on Maki's shoulder. "What do you say? Do you think you can come?"

'_How am I supposed to get out of this one…? They honestly think I'm their friend. Wait… There is a way to get them off my back. I'm sorry if I'm going to be mean, but it's the only way…' _Maki thought.

"Well? What do you say, cutie?" Duke asked.

Maki took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I don't fraternize with losers."

Everyone blinked in confusion. Mai let go of Maki's shoulder.

"What did you just say?" Tea asked with utmost confusion.

"You heard me. I don't hang out with _losers_," Maki repeated with emphasis on the word 'losers.'

"Am I hearing things or did she just call us losers?" Tristan whispered to Joey.

"Maki… I don't understand…" Serenity said.

Maki chuckled mockingly. "You all think I'm your friend. Now that's funny."

"Why is it funny?" Yugi asked.

"Friendship is just a stupid idealistic concept made up by people who have no lives," Maki explained.

"Excuse me?" Mai asked.

"I appreciate the help you gave me, Mai, but I don't want friendship from any of you."

"What are you talking about, Maki? Friendship is perhaps the most important thing in the world!" Tea exclaimed.

"Friendship is for the weak. It is, as I said, an idealistic concept for those who are afraid of being alone and those who need somebody to make them feel better about themselves. Let's not forget those who have nothing better to do with their time and must constantly pester their friends to think that they have a life, when in fact they don't. I am not one of those people. I don't want friends. I didn't need them before and I certainly do not need them now. I suggest you all leave me alone and go on with your idealistic lives because in the end the _only_ person you can trust is yourself."

Joey twitched. "Dat sounds like somethin Kaiba would say."

"Well, speak of the devil," Mai commented as someone approached them.

"Maki, I couldn't have said it better myself," the voice said as he stopped about a foot away from the swings on the opposite side that Maki was facing.

"Eep!" Maki jumped at the voice and she fell backwards with her legs resting on the swing seat. "K-Kaiba! Hi." Seto raised an eyebrow.

"Kaiba… What are you doing here?" Tristan asked.

"That's none of your business, Taylor. Maki and I have some pending business," Seto replied coldly.

Maki blinked and realization struck. "Oh! I was supposed to call you yesterday. I'm so sorry, I forgot. I had to help my parents pack and I lost track of time." She took her legs off the swing and pushed herself up off the ground.

"Whatever. I've thought about your proposition, and I accept," Seto replied.

"Well, that's good news. How did you know I was here, though?" Maki asked as she dusted herself off.

"I stopped by your place. Your mother told me you were here."

"Ah, okay. Well then, I suggest we discuss things somewhere less… _crowded_," Maki said as she glanced back at the group as if to say that the park was crowded because of them.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Seto said and together, he and Maki walked off towards his limo.

Everyone stared with baffled looks.

"What… was _that _about?" Tea asked once Seto and Maki were no longer within view.

"Did she just insult us and then walk off with Kaiba?" Duke asked.

"Yeah, and what was up with that speech of hers?" Tristan asked.

"I bet she thinks she's too good for us," Joey answered.

"Yeah, but… she seemed so nice to us the other day. Why would she say all those mean things now?" Serenity wondered aloud.

"Serenity has a point. Why would she be nice to us one day and then blow us off the next?" Ryou asked.

"Do you think she was just taking advantage of us? I mean, we did help her out after all," Tea stated.

Yugi took the swing Maki abandoned. "No, I don't think that's it. The more I think about it, the more she reminds me of Mai."

"Of me? What do you mean, Yugi?"

"Well, don't you remember how you used to be before you accepted our friendship?" Yugi asked.

"I guess that could be a possibility," Tea said.

"I still think she sounds like Kaiba," Joey said.

"Speaking of which, what did Kaiba mean when he said that he and Maki had some business to take care of?" Duke asked.

"Good question," Serenity said.

…

Seto and Maki went to Seto's office at Kaiba Corp.

"Hi Maki!" Mokuba greeted as they walked into the office.

"Hello, Mokuba," Maki greeted back. Her eyes wandered around the office while Seto made his way to his chair. Maki's gaze flickered over to a very noticeable object on Seto's desk - a white rose in a thin crystal vase. It looked familiar.

Mokuba followed Maki's gaze. "Oh, you left that here the other day," he said to Maki.

"Huh?" Maki blinked and thought back to the last time she had been in the room. _'Did I really… forget? Hmm… Oh, that's right. I did forget!'_ She walked up to the desk and gently pulled the rose out of the vase.

"I took care of it for you," Mokuba said as she fingered the rose.

"Th-thank you."

Mokuba smiled. "No problem."

'_It's still so hard to believe that I just got back three days ago. This rose is still fresh and new,' _Maki thought.

Seto, who was already typing away on his computer, looked up. "Shall we begin or are you going to stare at that rose all day?"

Maki looked up and met his gaze. "Uh… I uh," She mumbled and cleared her throat. "No, let's get started." She glanced back down at the white rose. _'I'll pick this up later before I leave.'_ She gently slipped the rose back into the vase and stood beside Seto at the computer. Mokuba joined them as well.

**TBC…**

Well, I hope you liked that one. Oh, and if any of you are fans of Life At My House, I am almost done with the next chapter. Well, not really, but I finally got up to the part where we actually make the tacos. Boy is that going to be fun. HA! Please Review. They make my day.


	15. Beginning Preparations

"The Rose Duelist"

A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… I only own Maki, Mr., and Mrs. Kaichi.

7-18-05 - HELLO again! I hope you enjoy the new update… It may not be much, but Seto and Maki are starting to prepare for the tournament and a few more things about Maki's past come up. Anyway, I made this chapter a page and a half longer than usual! YAY!

Also, I drew another Maki picture the other day… This new one has SETO in it! I should have posted it in my profile by tomorrow, so take a note of it. This was my first time drawing Seto, so do not kill me if you do not like it… I actually think it is pretty good for my first time drawing Seto. Anyway, I also colored in two (maybe three) of the pictures I have now, so I will post those up as well. So just look in my profile tomorrow. Thanks. Enjoy the new chapter!

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.

_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

**Chapter 15 - Beginning Preparations…**

"It's nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks that Yugi and his friends are a bunch of idiotic airheads," Seto commented to Maki as he typed away. They had been working for an hour already and Mokuba had gone off to get coffee for the both of them. Maki was sitting in a chair that Mokuba had fished for her a short while after they had started.

"Yes, well… I don't believe in friendship," Maki stated as she stared at the computer screen.

"The only person you can trust is yourself."

"Precisely," Maki agreed.

"Well, I assume you want to claim some part of this tournament as your own?" Seto asked.

"Yes, if that's not a problem. I went over a few things from your 'Battle City' tournament, and I'd like to control a few specific details as well as add one or two of my own rules."

"Very well. Have you thought of a name for our tournament?"

His question caught her off guard. _'He… called it _our_ tournament__… He's letting me play a major part in this, just like… Rosenkreuz did.'_

"Well?" Seto asked impatiently and looked over at Maki.

Maki turned slightly and met his gaze. _'His eyes are so beautiful…' _"The Rose Tournament."

Seto gave her a questioning look. "Rose? You sure have a thing for them, do you? I assume you will assimilate them into quite a few things in our tournament then."

Maki's gaze returned to the computer screen and she replied with a nod.

"Who wants coffee?" Mokuba asked as he walked into the office, carrying two mugs of the steaming hot liquid.

Seto took his and nodded in thanks.

Maki chuckled and took the other mug. "Thank you, Mokuba."

They continued working for another hour.

"I think your parents might want you home now. We can continue tomorrow," Seto said as he stopped typing and turned to look at Maki.

Maki glanced at the time on the corner of the computer screen. "Yeah, you're right. Well, what time do you want me here tomorrow?" Maki asked.

"Come anytime between one and five in the afternoon."

"Alright."

Seto pushed a button on his intercom. "Roland, send Miss Kaichi home in the limo."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba," was the reply.

"Limo? Oh, well, uh… thank you," Maki said. Seto said nothing and returned to his work.

"Here, Maki, don't forget this," Mokuba said as he gently took Maki's white rose out of the slim crystal vase and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Mokuba. I'll see you tomorrow," Maki said.

"Bye, Maki," Mokuba said as she left the room.

…

Meanwhile, two dark figures kept a close watch on the entrance to the Kaiba Corp. building. One, the younger one, was wearing a long white hooded cloak. The other was dressed in all biker attire so that he would blend in as a commoner. The two were clearly not from Domino.

However, there was one very important fact about the two. They both had the same badge pinned to their clothes. What is interesting about this is that their badges were the same as the one Maki had.

"Do you see her yet? I'm bored!" the one dressed as a biker exclaimed.

"Would you be patient? She won't be in there forever. She has to go home soon, you know," his much younger partner replied.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I just wish we could have some fun in this place rather than having to chase after this girl."

"I completely agree with you, but master Rosenkreuz gave us strict orders to find her."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun. I mean just look at this place! This dimension is decades, maybe centuries ahead of ours."

"That's for sure. I still can't believe these little things are going to help us communicate over vast distances," the younger one said as he pulled out a cell phone and looked it over.

"Forget the communicators, what about this motorcycle of mine? Have you ever seen a form of transportation _this_ sweet? And my clothes! I wish we had this style back in our dimension."

"Shhh! I see her. Get your motorcycle ready and don't lose sight of her, got it? Find out where she lives and come back immediately."

"I know. I know. I'll be back," and with that the man dressed as a biker mounted his motorcycle and followed the black limo that drove Maki home while his partner remained hidden in the dark alleyway a few feet away from the Kaiba Corp. building.

…

"Thank you very much," Maki thanked the chauffeur once they reached her house.

"No need to thank me Miss. It's my job," he replied and Maki stepped out.

He drove away and Maki rang the doorbell to her house. Her parents had not yet given her a set of keys. She stepped inside once her mother opened the door. Little did she know that she was being watched. As she closed the door, a nearby motorcycle made a U-turn and sped back towards the Kaiba Corp. building.

…

"Hi, mom. Hi, dad," Maki greeted as she stepped over a box. There were piles of them stacked all around the living room just waiting for someone to open them and empty them of their contents. All the major furniture was already set in place. Maki's room was still empty though. Her parents still had to buy furniture for her.

"Hello, sweetie," Mrs. Kaichi replied. "What did Mr. Kaiba want you for?"

"Oh, well, he decided to start another tournament. He's letting me work on it with him since it was my idea in the first place," Maki explained.

"That's great, Maki! You must feel honored to be working with one of the greatest duelists in the world! Not to mention devilishly handsome," Mrs. Kaichi exclaimed.

A small blush came to Maki's cheeks. "Mom…"

"Ah, Maki, please take these boxes to your room. They're all yours," Mr. Kaichi stated and pointed to a pile of boxes that they had gathered in a corner, near Maki's bedroom.

"Sure." Maki walked over to the pile and took the boxes into her room, one by one.

…

'_Hmm… I wonder what's in these boxes… It's been years since I've touched _any_ of my things…'_

Maki picked a random box and kneeled before it. She slowly tore the tape that held it closed and opened it. She gasped and her eyes widened as she saw the first item in the box.

'_It's… It's my star plushie…'_ She took it out of the box and looked it over. She sighed and hugged it tightly.

…**Flashback…**

After the dreadful "hair cutting" incident that Maki suffered in third grade, she vowed to never have friends again. She put all her efforts into losing weight. About a year later, when Maki turned ten, she had done great progress. She was still a little chubby, but she was doing pretty well, especially with the help of her parents.

That year was the same year Maki became interested in Duel Monsters. Even though she had no one to play with, she was still quite interested in the game and her parents bought her some cards so she could build her deck. She did not get to play much that year, only a few duels here and there against some of her classmates who were also just getting into the game.

The next year, Maki achieved her goal of losing weight and her hair grew back to just a little past her shoulders. By then, many kids in town were into Duel Monsters and even though Maki did not have any friends, she challenged many of the other kids to duel her.

Many of the boys who dueled her, especially those who found her as a worthy opponent, tried to befriend her. However, she had vowed to avoid friendship and she developed an arrogant and icy attitude towards people.

The next year, her hometown established an official dueling arena and they started holding tournaments there. Maki, twelve years old at that point, began competing at these tournaments and she did well. She dueled in those tournaments for three years and she improved with every duel.

By the time she was fourteen, Maki had few worthy opponents. She was the best female duelist in town and coincidentally the best male duelist in her town was Rick Takinawa, the same boy that had tortured her all those years ago.

Crystal Takinawa, unlike her brother did not care much for Duel Monsters and wondered why she had been Maki's friend at all when they were younger. She quickly recovered from the "hair cutting" incident and made many other friends who also could not care less about Duel Monsters.

It was that final duel in the local tournament, when Maki was fourteen, which changed her life forever.

…**End Flashback…**

A tear slowly rolled down her cheek as she clutched the star plushie tighter in her arms. _'That was it… That was the day I met him… The day I met… Seto Kaiba Rosenkreuz… I will never forget that day… Never…'_

…

Maki had to sleep on the couch that night. After all, she did not have a bed yet. She decided to sleep with her star plushie.

'_It was the only thing that helped me sleep when that incident happened in the third grade. I hope it can help me sleep tonight…'_

…

"_Splendid! In keeping with the old tradition of the Old Temple gardens, I offer you a choice, Duelist. Here are two roses," Rosenkreuz said as he held out a white rose and a red one. "The white rose represents me and the red for old Simon here…"_

"_For the sake of justice… Choose the red rose!" Simon, a strange man whowas the High Druid of the Lancastrian house, said._

"_Stand by my side, Duelist… Choose the white rose," Rosenkreuz requested._

'_What should I do? I still have no idea where I am or why I'm even here!' Maki thought. She looked up and searched Rosenkreuz's eyes. 'Wow… His eyes are so amazing… Oh, what am I saying? I don't know what to do? I'm supposed to be some legendary duelist that can end this war? I guess I'll join… Seto Kaiba Rosenkreuz…'_

_Maki smirked, took both roses and looked at them. After a slight moment of silence, she tossed the red one aside, slipped the white one behind her ear, and stood beside Rosenkreuz. Simon stared at her with a shocked expression._

"_A wise choice, Duelist! I see you are well versed in judging a situation. Welcome to the Rose Crusaders! I am honored," Rosenkreuz said. Maki looked up at him and smiled._

…

Maki woke up to the smell of hot coffee. She groggily sat up and sighed. _'Rosenkreuz…'_

"Good morning, Maki. Did you sleep well?" Mrs. Kaichi asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess," Maki replied.

"Well, listen, go have some breakfast. We're leaving in thirty minutes to buy some furniture for your room."

"Sure mom," Maki said and wandered into the kitchen to eat breakfast.

Just as Mrs. Kaichi said, they left in thirty minutes to search around Domino for furniture.

…

After a few hours, they had found a nice slick black bedroom furniture set. It was to be delivered the next morning. Maki was staring out the car window when she realized something.

"Uh, mom, what time is it?" she asked.

"1:05… Why do you ask?" Mrs. Kaichi replied.

"1:05? Dad, could you drop me off at Kaiba Corp.?" Maki requested. "We were supposed to continue working on the tournament," she explained, referring to Seto and herself.

"Kaiba Corp.? How long are you going to be there?" Mr. Kaichi asked.

"I'm not sure. Quite a few hours, I think," Maki replied, not taking her eyes away from the buildings they passed by.

"Well, alright, but take my cell phone and come home no later than 8:00," Mr. Kaichi instructed.

"Thanks," Maki replied as Mrs. Kaichi handed her Mr. Kaichi's cell phone.

…

"Bye, mom. Bye, dad," Maki said as she stepped out of the car once they reached Kaiba Corp.

"Bye, Maki," her parents said back and Maki disappeared into the building.

**TBC…**

Well, I hope you liked it. I am going to try to make future chapters as long, if not longer, than this one… This one was about four and a half pages… I will try to make the next one my usual five-page limit. I use that limit for all my other stories. Anyway, have a nice day and please review.


	16. Wandering Around Domino

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… I only own Maki, Mr., and Mrs. Kaichi.

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.

_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

OMG! I AM SO SORRY! T.T I accidentally posted the whole story instead of just chapter 16... I think I seriously confused you all... SO SORRY! My mom was rushing me and I guess I didn't realize it... um... PLEASE forget what you read... What you read was NOT chapter 17... That whole scene whenMaki gets shot... That's not supposed to happen until later! That was after the whole tournament! I'm so sorry! Gomen nasai! Here's chapter 16...

**Chapter 16 - Wandering Around Domino…**

Once Maki stepped inside the Kaiba Corp. building, she looked around at the busy workers rushing around, doing their best to meet the daily quota. One worker in particular, a tall man with dull blonde hair, who was wearing a lab coat, rushed past Maki with a broken Duel Disk. Another woman with short bubble-gum pink hair was desperately trying to balance a twelve-inch thick stack of papers as she walked towards the elevator.

The secretary at the main desk seemed to have gone through her seventh cup of coffee as she fiddled with the phone, directing the calls to the various departments in the building. Of course, she did not take _all_ of Kaiba Corp.'s calls. There was a separate room in the building, where an entire horde of secretaries took phone calls. (XD… I am talking about that room with all the clone girls. The only difference between them was their hair colors.) The secretary at the main desk took some of the most important calls. Today she was receiving many more calls than she usually did.

Suddenly, a man with short black spiked hair, carrying a tray with six coffee cups, walked past Maki and handed two of the large coffee cups to the secretary at the main desk. He then rushed off to the elevator to go other floors. Apparently, some of the floors in the building were out of coffee.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" shouted a petite red haired woman at a round balding man who had accidentally bumped into her and made her drop a stack of folders. He hastily picked them up and placed them in her arms. Then he quickly hurried off to the elevator.

Maki just stared, bewildered, at the sight of the busy workers and tried to take it all in. She had not really taken the time to notice the hubbub the other times she came to Kaiba Corp. Now, she carefully examined each person, staring at their vexed expressions, glancing at people who were behind, sometimes even under, stacks of folders or papers.

She had only returned to this world of hers about four days ago after having been away for three years. It was a revitalizing sight to see the usual rushed activity of her world. It was a refreshing sound to hear the usual shouts and cries of busy people littering the room as the rushed around doing their normal everyday work. For three whole years, the only sights Maki had seen were those of bloodshed, of darkness and of pain. The only sounds she had heard were those of battle cries, of gunshots, of swords slashing against one another, and of painful groans.

The smell of coffee that reached Maki's nose the instant the man with the coffee tray passed by her was very calming. For the first time since her return, Maki fully appreciated the smell. For the three years that she had been gone, all she smelled was blood, gunpowder, and the smell of a war-ridden countryside. Occasionally, whenever she was injured, she was forced to smell the horrible hospital smells, and on every account, the smell of her own blood.

She took a deep breath and stepped out of her reverie as she saw a familiar face with the most noticeable mop of black hair.

"Maki!" cried out Mokuba as he ran to greet Maki, who was still standing only a few feet from the door.

"Hello, Mokuba," Maki said in return with a slight smile. Albeit she did not want friends, she could stand being nice to the sweet innocent kid standing in front of her as long as he did not expect friendship from her.

"Maki, Seto was called in for an important business meeting, so he's busy at the moment. It's a very important meeting and he'll probably be in there for a few hours. He told me to tell you to come back in about three hours. His meeting should be over by then," Mokuba explained.

Maki blinked, dumbfounded for a brief second, but then understood completely. "Oh, I see. Um… okay, I guess. So I'll just check out the city for a bit. Three hours, right?"

"Right," Mokuba replied with a smile.

Maki nodded, twirled around, and walked out the door.

…

'_So… What do I do now? I have three hours until I can see Kaiba so we can continue our work on the tournament… What to do… What to do…'_ Maki glanced around at the many streets around her. _'Hmm… I don't want to get lost in this big city… That would be foolish… I could go to the park… Then again, I don't actually know how to get to the park from here… The last time I went there from Kaiba Corp. was actually a fluke… I sort of just… stumbled into the park… No, wait… I think I still remember the way… Hmm…I think it was… that way…'_

Maki tried hard to remember any familiar street she had gone down the last time she went to the park from Kaiba Corp. She finally decided on a somewhat familiar street and walked towards it, away from the Kaiba Corp. building.

She started passing by a few stores; mainly a large coffee shop, quite a few clothing stores, a shoe store, and a jewelry store. As she continued walking, she ended up in Domino Plaza. It was beautiful, thought Maki. She stared at the open walking space until a particular store around the perimeter of the plaza caught her eye. A woman walked out with her daughter, holding her tightly by the hand. The little girl, with the other hand, held a very large ice cream cone with two scoops of ice cream; one was chocolate, the other was rainbow sherbet.

'_An ice cream parlor… I wonder if they have…'_ Maki's thoughts trailed off as she walked inside the parlor. She walked up to the counter where all the ice cream was, chilling in the freezer behind the thick plastic wall. Maki bent down and looked into the freezer. The ice cream selection was huge! She had never seen so many flavors in just one place before.

'_Could they possibly have…? THEY DO!'_ Maki's eyes widened as she spotted, among the dozens of flavors, her favorite one – Mint Chocolate Chip. She eyed the ice cream with a hungry look in her eye and a watery mouth. How she longed to taste a scoop of her favorite flavor. _'It's been years since I've had it… I've forgotten what it tastes like… I bet it's amazing though…'_

A voice broke her train of thought. "Miss, you've been eyeing that ice cream for quite a while now. Would you like a scoop?" asked a young woman at the counter.

"Huh?" Maki looked up, surprised, and recomposed herself. She dug around in her pockets. She felt nothing but her father's cell phone and scrunched her face in defeat. She did not have any money with her. _'Aw damn… How could I have been so stupid to forget something as simple as that? I should always carry some money around in case of emergencies…'_ She had forgotten, not on purpose, but by accident. Since she was practically thrown into a war for three years, she had no need for money. She went without it for the three years. Once she returned, it was not until now that she realized she would need it.

"Well, would you like a scoop?" repeated the woman at the counter.

Maki chuckled nervously and tried to hide her slight embarrassment. "No, sorry… I don't have any money with me right now. Perhaps I'll come back another time." With that, Maki turned and walked out of the parlor sheepishly into the open plaza.

…

Once again, two mysterious figures loomed in a dark alleyway, this time by the plaza. They both wore long white hooded cloaks with the same badge that Maki had pinned to their cloaks. They were not too far away from her. In fact, they were only a few feet away from the ice cream parlor.

"Can't we just attack her now? She's right there and all alone!" whined the older, taller one.

"No! Rosenkreuz told us to watch her. He'll give us the order when to get her. Just be patient!" exclaimed the younger one. The same two people were watching her the last time.

"Aww… You're no fun… Can I at least taunt her a little?"

"Taunt her? How?"

"Like this…" With a smirk, the older one pulled out a white rose from under his cloak and walked close to the edge of the alleyway but just enough so that he would not be seen. He poked his head out of the alley just a tad and looked to the right where Maki was standing, staring at the plaza. With a powerful and skillful flick of his wrist, the mysterious hooded figure flung the white rose at Maki's feet. He smirked in triumph and he and his younger partner, who also poked his head out, watched to see what Maki would do.

…

Maki was just gazing mindlessly at the random people walking around the plaza when she felt something brush against her leg. "Huh?" She looked down and stared at the object at her feet. Her eyes widened. _'Wha-what's this? Uh…'_ She bent down and slowly picked up the object, a white rose. _'Where did this come from? M-my rose is at home…'_ Her white rose really was at home. She had placed it in a vase in her room the night before.

Maki whipped around in the direction she was sure the rose came from and she could have sworn she saw a flash of white disappear into the alleyway. She glanced back at the rose in her hand. _'I didn't just see what I think I saw, did I? …No… I must have imagined it… Yeah, that's it… It was just my imagination…' _She shook her head fiercely and dropped the rose on the ground.

Maki pulled out her father's cell phone and glanced at the clock on it. She had forgotten her watch at home. _'Hmm… 2:15… I still have a little less than two hours left…'_ She decided to continue walking in some random direction and she did.

…

Unsure of how she did it, she had eventually made her way to the park. She softly smiled to herself and she walked over to where the swings were. She sat down on one of them and rested her head against the cool steel chain. She sighed as her mind plunged deep into thought.

'_This is my sanctuary… The one place I can be alone and just get some time to think… I'd always sit on a swing when I just needed some time to think…'_

Lifting her head back into an upright position, Maki gently kicked the ground so that she swayed back and forth in the air. She kicked harder and she swung a bit higher. She continued kicking at the ground, making her go higher. She swung for a half an hour until she saw a football headed her way.

"I got it! I got it!" yelled a voice, heading in her direction.

Maki wanted to stop but she knew she could not stop fast enough to avoid the incoming ball, so she let go, jumped off the swing, and ducked on the ground. The football flew past her and landed about five feet behind her. There was a high possibility that it would have hit her if she had not jumped off in time.

"Aw, man. I told Tristan not ta throw it so hard. Hey, I'm sorry. Are you okay dere?" said a familiar voice with a Brooklyn accent.

Maki grumbled and looked up. _'Oh great… Just what I needed… It's him… I bet his friends are here too… I'd better just get away while I have the chance…'_

"Ya need help?" Joey asked nicely and extended his hand. Maki ignored it, stood up, and brushed herself off.

"Wha? It's you… What are _you_ doin here?" Joey asked with distain as soon as he saw Maki's frowning face.

"This is a public park; I can be here if I want," Maki smirked and turned to leave, "and next time, watch where you throw that thing." With that, she walked off towards the Kaiba Corp. building, leaving a grumbling Joey in her wake.

…

"Hey Joey! What took you so long?" Yugi asked as he saw Joey trudging up to them.

"Yeah, we thought you got lost," Tristan added with a playful smirk.

Joey continued grumbling and muttered something along the lines of, "I swear if she weren't a girl, I'd bash her face in…"

"Bash whose face in Joey?" Tea asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh, dat Maki Kaichi… She's da spittin image of Kaiba…"

"You bumped into her just now?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah."

"What'd she say?" asked Yugi.

"I just asked her what she was doin in the park and she just said dat it was a public park and she could do what she wants. Then she smirked and said ta watch where I'm throwing the football." Joey tossed the football at Tristan, who almost dropped it but caught it anyway.

"It hit her?" Tea asked.

"Nah, I don't think so. She ducked on da ground. I tried helpin her up but she ignored me and dat's when I asked her what she was doin dere," Joey explained.

"She does sound like Kaiba," Tristan concluded.

"I still don't understand why though. We did help her out after all," Tea wondered aloud.

"Maybe she really doesn't want friends," Yugi stated.

"But why?" Tea inquired.

"Who knows?" Tristan asked.

"Why don't we just forget about it? There's no use in worrying about it," Yugi pointed put.

"Yuge's right. Let's go back ta playin some football, okay?" Joey suggested.

The others nodded and they returned to their game.

…

'_Well… That went fairly well… Yes…' _Maki thought and smirked to herself. She walked on through the streets of Domino, back to the Kaiba Corp. building. She had taken another route, but it did not matter. Kaiba Corp. was the tallest building in the city, after all, so it was easy to find. She was currently contemplating her little "victory" at blowing off Joey Wheeler.

'_Now that I think about it… That little scene back there reminds me of my younger years… My pre-teen years before the war… Everyone at home knew not to cross me… I had developed an attitude that just screamed "Don't mess with me"… I'll admit, the war changed me greatly, but it's nice to know I still have that "back off" attitude…'_

Halfway back she did not pay attention to her surroundings; her only focus was on the Kaiba Corp. building a few blocks ahead. While she was walking, she accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said and looked up to see whom she had bumped into. Her eyes widened and she stood there looking up at a man in his early twenties, more shocked than she wanted to be at the moment.

**TBC…**

Haha… I'm keeping you in suspense here… So, who did Maki bump into? Hope you liked the chapter… I made it nice and long for you… Five pages! Well, please review and have a nice day! Bye!


	17. Maki's New Office

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… However, I do own Maki, Mr. (Morosou) Kaichi, Mrs. (Yakima) Kaichi, Mrs. Kaichi's ring tone, and the two AIM screen names I made up for Maki and Seto, but I don't own AIM.

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.

_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

Hello! Once again, I just want to apologize for the confusion I caused for many of you the first time I posted Chapter 16. My mom was rushing me to get off the computer and I did not realize that I had accidentally posted the WHOLE story, including a big chunk of an exciting future chapter. I usually check my uploaded documents BEFORE I post them, but as I said mom was rushing me. Anyway, I found many of your reviews interesting. A few of you called it the "fake Chapter 16" or the "fake Chapter 17." I thought that was funny. I decided to post this chapter faster than usual to make up for my little mistake. I'll stop my rambling now. Enjoy!

**Chapter 17 - Maki's New Office**

"Hey, what's a pretty girl like you just walking around alone for?" he asked. He had a bandana on his head with the American flag on it that covered most of his blond hair. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes. A playful smirk was plastered on his face.

'_No… It can't be him… Can it?'_ Maki thought. She examined him closely for a second. _'Despite the modern clothes… He looks exactly the same…'_

"Keith…" The name slipped out of Maki's mouth before she could realize it.

The man cocked an eyebrow. "How did you know…?" he trailed off as his eyes wandered over to her dueling belt and the deck that was attached to it. "Ah, you play Duel Monsters? So I'm sure you must have heard of me then. The name's Bandit Keith," he said airily.

Maki blinked in confusion. It took a while for his words to sink in. _'Bandit Keith? So he isn't who I thought he was…' _Maki sighed deeply in relief. _'It seems even Keith has a counterpart in my world… So there's nothing to worry about. This isn't Keith of the Rose Crusaders. No, this is Bandit Keith, just some random duelist I bumped into… Yeah, that's it…'_

"You okay?" asked Bandit Keith.

"Huh?" Maki broke out of her thoughts. "Uh… I have to go. Bye!" She rushed past him and made a run for the Kaiba Corp. building.

Once she got there, she grabbed her knees and panted heavily. _'That… was close. For a second there, I thought it was the Keith that I knew… But he wasn't… That was the Keith of my world, this world… Yes… Yugi and the others have counterparts in this world, so it would make sense that anyone else I knew from the war would have counterparts in this world as well…'_

Maki's breathing slowed down to its normal rate. She looked up at the towering height of Kaiba Corp. and smiled. She glanced at the clock on her father's cell phone. "3:32… I still have half an hour left," Maki mumbled to herself and sat down on the stone steps in front of the building.

She sighed and stared at the beautiful summer sky. There was hardly a cloud in sight. Maki had to admit, it was a very hot day. She wanted to take her jacket off. _'But I can't… It would be too risky. If someone I know were to notice the scar on my shoulder, it would arise too many unwanted questions… It's still so hard to believe I just got back a few days ago…' _She sighed again and rested her elbow on her knee and her chin on her hand.

"Maki!" Mokuba popped out of the main entrance to Kaiba Corp. Maki broke out of her thoughts and turned her head to look at him.

"You're lucky; Seto came out of his meeting just a few minutes ago. You can go up to see him now."

Maki nodded and stood up. She followed Mokuba inside and they stepped inside the elevator. Maki leaned on the back wall of the elevator and crossed her arms.

'_Another day of work with Seto Kaiba… Working with him on this tournament should get my mind off Rosenkreuz… I need to move on… I'm sure that the only way is to fall in love with the Seto from my own world… from this world… This tournament will hopefully give me enough time to get to know him…'_ She sighed and closed her eyes. _'Of course, it won't be so easy to just forget Rosenkreuz… After all, I did decide to name the tournament "The Rose Tournament"… Who knows what else I'm going to do with this tournament that'll come from my war experiences…'_

Ding!

The elevator stopped. Maki opened her eyes and followed Mokuba out of the elevator.

"Hello Master Mokuba. Mr. Kaiba is waiting for you and Miss Kaichi in his office," said a man with greenish hair and glasses as he walked past them.

"Thanks, Roland," Mokuba replied and he and Maki entered Seto's office.

…

Seto was typing away on his computer. He looked up as Mokuba and Maki walked in.

"Ah, Maki. I want to show you something," Seto said as he stood up. "Follow me."

He walked past her and left his office. Maki blinked in confusion but followed him anyway. Mokuba followed as well with a big childish grin on his face. He already knew what Seto wanted to show Maki. Seto led them down the hall to a door with a small plaque on it that read: "Maki Kaichi, Co-host - 'The Rose Tournament'" and opened it. They stepped into a medium-sized room. It was simple. The back wall was actually an entire window that let in the bright rays of the sun. There was a desk in front of the window with a comfortable chair behind it and a trash can at its side. A computer was meticulously placed on the desk. Tall plants were in all the corners of the room. There was a black leather couch against the wall where the door was. A small coffee maker on a small table was between the couch and the plant in the corner.

"Wow… What is it?" asked Maki as she looked around.

"Your new office. You will work in here until the end of the tournament," Seto answered. He walked over to the computer. It was already on. He opened a file on the desktop. "I've given you a copy of the complete set of rules from my 'Battle City' tournament right here. I expect you to look over them very carefully and make any necessary changes. I don't expect you to complete it all today, but don't waste time. You will then hand the rules over to me so I can give my approval. If you have any questions, I have also set up a Kaiba Corp. internet account for you. My e-mail address is in your address book and you can communicate with me through IM. Here's my screen name," he handed her a small slip of paper, "I'll be busy in my office and I don't like to be interrupted, so anything you need to consult with me must be through chat or e-mail. Understood?" He looked up from the computer and waited for her answer.

Maki nodded slightly. "Yes, I understand. Thank you."

"Good. Just let me know when you need to go home so my driver can take you."

"I um… Yes, thanks, Kaiba," Maki replied. Seto walked past her without another word and closed the door behind him.

"Do you like your office, Maki?" asked Mokuba.

"Yes, I love it. I didn't expect your brother to give me my own office."

"He figured it would be easier if he did. It should help you work faster so we can start the tournament as soon as possible."

"Yes, that makes sense. Well, I should be getting to work now then."

"See you later, Maki," Mokuba said and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Maki walked over and sat down in her chair. _'Wow… This is… nice… It's very nice…' _Maki took a deep breath and glanced at the computer screen. Sure enough, there was the set of rules for Battle City. _'So I have to go over these and make changes… I'd better get started then…'_ she thought and began working.

…

About three hours later, Maki stood up and stretched. She yawned from exhaustion and glanced at the clock. It read 6:43. A loud grumbling came from her stomach. She chuckled to herself. _'That's right… I haven't eaten since lunch when I went out with my parents to buy my new furniture… Boy, I'm hungry… What am I supposed to do for food?'_

Her eyes wandered to a little icon on the corner of the screen. It was the icon for AOL Instant Messenger. _'Hmm… I wonder if I should… I don't want to bother him for something like this… But I am hungry…'_ Her stomach growled again. _'I'll take that as a yes from my stomach…'_

Maki clicked on the icon and the little screen popped up. There were not any screen names on it yet. She would have to make one for her to use. She clicked on the link that would take her to the main AIM website so she could create a screen name. She followed the instructions on the screen. _'What should my screen name be?'_

After about five minutes of thinking, she decided on a screen name. She typed it in, along with her password, the email address that Seto had set up for her, and the security code in the appropriate slots. Once she was done, she signed in. She added Seto's screen name to her buddy list. He was online.

…

(By the way, I am just making these screen names up. They are not real.)

**MKWhiteRose: **Um… Kaiba?

**BEWDKaibaCorp: **Interesting screen name, Maki.

**MKWhiteRose:** How did you know it was me?

**BEWDKaibaCorp:** You're the only one I've given my screen name to. I created mine last night just so we could communicate.

**MKWhiteRose: **Oh… Okay…

**BEWDKaibaCorp: **What did you want?

**MKWhiteRose: **Oh… That… Yeah, I was wondering… That is… Um…

**BEWDKaibaCorp:** Well?

**MKWhiteRose: **I know this sounds pretty childish, but I'm hungry… I was just wondering how I could get some food…

**BEWDKaibaCorp:** You are allowed to leave the building, you know. You're not confined to your office. I don't expect you to starve just because you're working on this tournament.

**MKWhiteRose: **So you mean, buy lunch outside?

**BEWDKaibaCorp:** Yes.

**MKWhiteRose: **Oh… Okay…

**BEWDKaibaCorp:** You do have money, don't you?

**MKWhiteRose: **…Not really… But that's okay; I got an idea… I'll just have my mom drop something off for me.

**BEWDKaibaCorp:** Fine.

…

Maki closed the IM window and took out her father's cell phone from her pocket. She flipped it open and checked the phone book. There were quite a few numbers on it, so Maki had to scroll down. She finally reached a number with the name "Yakima" next to it. Maki pressed the call button and waited for her mother to pick up.

…

-Boop bee boop bee boop bee boop boop, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo… Boop bee boop bee boop bee boop boop, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo…-

Yakima Kaichi dug around in her purse to find her cell phone that had just started ringing. (Yes, in case you are wondering that little 'Boop bee boop' thing was Mrs. Kaichi's ring tone. A plain 'Ring Ring' sounded lame and boring to me, so I made up that little ring tone. Hope you found it amusing. Heehee.)

"Darn, where did I put that-?"

"Yakima, you left this in our room," Mr. Kaichi said as he held up the flashing, vibrating, ringing cell phone.

-Boop bee boop bee boop bee boop boop, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo…-

"Oh… Ha-ha, so that's where I put it," Mrs. Kaichi said with a sheepish grin and a little sweat drop forming on the back of her head. "Thanks, Morosou." She took the cell phone and flipped it open without bothering to see who was calling.

Mr. Kaichi sighed and rolled his eyes at his wife's absentmindedness. He expected, now that their daughter had returned from her three-year disappearance, that it was going to start happening more often.

After they had dropped Maki off at Kaiba Corp., they drove back home to continue unpacking their boxes. Mr. Kaichi went back to his and his wife's room to continue unpacking.

"Hello? Yakima Kaichi speaking," Mrs. Kaichi greeted.

"Hi mom," was the simple, bland reply.

"Maki! Hello, dear! How's your work going?"

"It's going pretty well. Kaiba gave me my own office."

"Really? Wow, that's great!"

"Yeah… Hey mom, can you do me a favor?"

"Yes?"

"Could you make me something to eat and drop it off?"

"Oh gosh, dear, you must be starving!"

Maki chuckled on the other line. "Mom, I'm okay. Oh, and one more thing, call me when you get to Kaiba Corp. I'll come down and pick it up at the entrance, okay?"

"Sure thing, Maki. What would you like? We haven't unpacked any of the kitchen things yet."

It was true; the pots, pans, and kitchen appliances were still packed. So far, they had been eating a simple bowl of cereal for breakfast and they had been going out to eat lunch and dinner.

"Well then, can you buy some take-out or something? I would go myself, but I don't have any money with me," Maki said.

"Oh dear, we forgot to give you some emergency money! I'm so sorry, Maki. I've been so caught up with the move and everything that-"

"Mom! Mom, it's okay!" Maki interrupted and sighed. "I should go now. Remember to call me when you get here, okay. Thanks, mom. Bye." Maki hung up the phone, leaving Mrs. Kaichi blinking with the phone still at her ear.

"Uh… Okay?" Mrs. Kaichi closed her cell phone and dropped it in her purse. She called out to her husband, who was unpacking some boxes in their room, "Morosou, I'm going out to buy Maki something to eat!"

"In that case, get something for us too! I'm hungry now!" he shouted back.

"Yes dear!" With that, she grabbed her purse and sprinted out the door, to the car.

…

Maki stuffed the cell phone back in her pocket and glanced out the wall-sized window. The sun was still gleaming brightly in the sky. _'Wow… I can see a lot of the city from here… What a great view! It's so beautiful…'_

She walked over to the small coffee maker she had. It had already been completely set up; the coffee beans, the water, it was all ready to go. Maki smiled at this and turned it on. Right next to the coffee maker was a stack of Styrofoam cups, a cup full of plastic spoons, and a small box of sugar packets. She glanced down and noticed that the small table that the coffee maker was sitting on was actually a mini refrigerator. She opened it and saw a small carton of milk, a six-pack of water bottles, and a bottle of French vanilla creamer. Maki gasped at the sight and her smile grew even bigger. _'This place is amazing! Everything about it is great!'_ She closed the mini refrigerator and sat down on the black leather couch. "I don't think Kaiba would mind if I took a small break," she muttered to herself and laid back to wait for her mother to bring her some food.

**TBC…**

It was not much, but I wrote this chapter for a reason. I needed to give Maki her own office. It was important for my next chapter. Chapter 18 should be quite interesting. Well for now, please review and I will try to have Chapter 18 out as soon as possible! Thanks! Oh, and one more thing, I posted three Maki picture in my profile. One is a new Black and White one and the other two are two of the old ones that I colored in.


	18. A Frightening Encounter

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… However, I do own Maki, Mr. (Morosou) Kaichi, and Mrs. (Yakima) Kaichi.

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.  
_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

I'm sorry I took so long to update. There were two problems: 1 – school (That is pretty much self explanatory there…) and 2 – I went through a slight bit of writers' block halfway through this chapter.

I had originally intended for this chapter to be titled "Rain, Fever, and the Third Scar, but as I was nearing my five page minimum, I realized I was not yet up to that part. See, the thing is that halfway through this chapter, a random idea stuck and I just _had_ to write it. It adds a little more suspense I think. Anyway, the next chapter will be "Rain, Fever, and the Third Scar." For now, enjoy this one. I'm sure you'll like the exciting scene near the end.

One more thing! This is **IMPORTANT**! For those of you who might not have noticed, I posted the prequel – "**The Rose Duelist: War Stories**" – just a few days ago. I highly suggest you all read it; otherwise this story will become confusing later on. Thank you. Enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 18 – A Frightening Encounter…**

About a half an hour and a cup of coffee later, the cell phone in Maki's pocket started ringing. She pulled it out, checked the caller ID on the little screen, and flipped it open.

"Hi mom," she said blankly.

"Hello dear. I'm right in front of the building," Mrs. Kaichi replied.

"I'll be right down. Just wait for me," Maki said and hung up.

…

"I still don't see why we just can't grab her now…" a voice said impatiently.

"You are a pain in the neck. Did you know that? Rosenkreuz told us to watch her. She has to get comfortable first and then, when she least expects it, we can strike!" another, younger, voice exclaimed irritably.

They were the same two cloaked figures that had been watching Maki before.

"I'm bored!" the older one whined.

"Why did you have to be my partner, Keith? Why couldn't Ishizu have come instead?" the younger one said exasperatedly.

"Ishizu? Bonz, you can't trust a woman to do this kind of job," the older one, now known as Keith, retorted.

"She may be a woman, but she's better at a lot of things than you. Besides, she is one of us. She's a Rose Crusader just like you, me, and the others," the younger one, now known as Bonz, replied.

"Shut up," Keith spat. Bonz rolled his eyes and returned to watching the main entrance to Kaiba Corp.

…

Maki stepped out of the building and walked up to the car that was parked in front. A sudden shiver snaked down her spine. She had the feeling that someone was following her. She ignored it as the car door opened and Mrs. Kaichi climbed out.

"Thanks mom," Maki said as Mrs. Kaichi handed her a bag with two slices of pizza and a bottle of Sprite inside. Suddenly, Mrs. Kaichi pulled Maki into a tight bear hug.

"Uh… mom? I'm… trying to… breathe…" Maki choked out.

Mrs. Kaichi let go and beamed. Her eyes glistened like diamonds. Maki had not seen that sight from her mother in three years. "I'm sorry, dear. It is just so hard to believe that you're back with us. We really did think you were gone forever."

Maki grinned sheepishly. "It's okay, mom. Thanks for the food. I'll see you later, okay?"

Mrs. Kaichi nodded, gave Maki one final hug, and climbed back into the car. She waved from the window and drove off. Maki smiled and looked up at the sky. The sun was going to start setting soon. Maki turned around to walk back inside when she saw another flash of white disappear behind a nearby alley.

'_What was that? That's the second time today… It couldn't be, could it? The Rose Crusaders… No… They couldn't know where I am… I'm just imagining things… Yeah, that's it…'_ With that last thought trailing away in her mind, she walked back inside the building, up to her office to eat her dinner.

…

When Maki went back home later that night, she saw an odd sight. On the ground right in front of her front door, lay a single white rose. Maki raised an eyebrow. _'What… is that doing there? That's the second time today… First at the plaza… and now here… Is it all just a coincidence?'_ she thought worriedly. She picked up the rose and threw it out into the street. Albeit she loved white roses, seeing one lying harmlessly on her front doorstep without any idea of how it got there gave her the willies.

Maki had a dreamless sleep that night – her first slightly pleasant night since her return.

…

The next morning, the furniture company brought Maki's new bedroom set to her house. It took a few hours, but they finally arranged it all into a nice comfortable layout. The phone line was also installed that day. Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi helped Maki unpack a few of her boxes before she had to go to Kaiba Corp. for the day. All they unpacked were some office-type supplies and all of Maki's books as well as one of the suitcases of clothes. Of course, all the clothes were from when she was fourteen, so they kept only the clothing items that fit her and then everything else went back into the suitcase. Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi returned to unpack their own boxes in various parts of the house once Maki left for Kaiba Corp.

(By the way, their house is a two-story building. The bottom floor is the living room, dining room, and kitchen, as well as an attached garage and Mr. Kaichi's study. The top floor is the two bedrooms and the bathroom. I will try to make some sketch of what it looks like from an overhead view or something, just so you know what it looks like inside…)

…

This was Maki's second official day at Kaiba Corp. It was also the sixth day since her return. Mr. Kaichi drove Maki to Kaiba Corp and he gave her twenty dollars for food and emergencies. The rest of the day went along smoothly. Maki continued her work on the rules for "The Rose Tournament," but sadly, did not get to see much of Seto Kaiba the entire day. The only contact she made all day with him was when she informed him that she was ready to go home, and that was through instant message.

Much like the previous night, a single white rose lay on Maki's front doorstep when she arrived home. She shook her head, did not give it much of a second thought, and tossed it out into the street. She looked around, hoping to catch another glimpse of anything white, but saw nothing. She quickly stepped inside and locked the door behind her.

The Kaichi family spent the rest of the night unpacking more boxes. They managed to unpack all of the boxes labeled "Kitchen" and "Bathroom" and put all the things away before they decided to give in for the night. Maki slept in her new bed that night. It was not exactly a dreamless sleep. White roses and a pair of deep blue eyes continuously flashed through her mind.

…

The next day began along a slightly different routine as the previous day. Mrs. Kaichi made a real breakfast for the first time since the move. Mr. Kaichi was going to start working that day. He had found a well-paying job downtown, not too far from home.

"Maki, do you have to go to Kaiba Corp. today?" Mrs. Kaichi asked as she slid a plate of omelet to Maki.

"Yeah. I'm still not done modifying Kaiba's rules for our tournament," Maki replied and put a forkful of omelet in her mouth.

"Oh, well can you help me unpack a few more boxes before you go?"

"Sure mom. I don't have to be there until one in the afternoon."

"Do you think you will be fine walking there by yourself, Maki?" her father's voice cut in as he sat down with a newspaper in hand.

"Yes, dad, I'll be fine. I memorized the route to get there and I'm taking mom's cell phone," she replied and glanced up to see her father's smiling face. His neat black hair was slightly graying and he now had a pair of rounded glasses perched on his nose. "Dad, since when do you need glasses?"

"What? Oh, the doctor prescribed them about two years ago. They're just for reading though," her father replied.

"Oh…" Maki said and continued forking her way through her omelet.

…

"Bye mom," Maki called out as she headed out the door.

"Bye Maki. Be careful!" Mrs. Kachi called back.

They had spent the past four hours unpacking some more boxes, mostly things that belonged in the living room. Now Maki Kaichi was off to Kaiba Corp for another day of adjusting Seto Kaiba's tournament rules.

…

"So, you guys, where shall we go today?" Tea asked as she, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Duke, and Serenity wandered the streets of Domino.

"Why don't we go to the arcade?" Tristan suggested.

"Nah, I'm hungry! Let's stop by da mall's food court!" Joey exclaimed.

"Joey, do you _always_ think with your stomach?" Duke asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Dice Boy. You'll be sorry when your stomach starts begging ya for-" and as if on cue, Duke's stomach started grumbling.

The whole group laughed as Duke flushed with embarrassment.

"Then the mall's food court it is then!" Tea said with a chuckle and the group headed towards the mall.

"Agh!" Serenity piped as she bumped into someone when she and her friends rounded a corner.

"Oof! Sorr… Oh… It's you geeks again…"

"Maki!" Serenity squeaked.

"MAKI! What are _you_ doin here?" Joey hissed; his dislike for the raven-haired girl apparent.

Maki rolled her eyes. _'Great… Not them again… I didn't see any of them all day yesterday…' _"Must you ask that question _every_ time you run into me?"

"Maybe we should just go you guys," Yugi spoke up. He did not like confrontations like this; he would rather avoid them as much as possible.

"Yugi's right. There's no point sticking around," Tea added.

"No. She bumped inta my sista and she should apologize!" Joey shouted. Nearby people were starting to stare.

"Guys, we're starting to make a scene," Duke pointed out.

"Just let her go Joey. She's not worth it," Tristan muttered and put his hand on Joey's shoulder. Joey shrugged it off.

"No way, man. She's gotta apologize," Joey said, not taking his eyes off Maki's.

"It's okay Joey, really. Don't worry about it. It's not like she hurt me or anything," Serenity pleaded. She did not want her brother to start any kind of trouble.

"Serenity, when someone bumps inta somebody, they should always say dere sorry," Joey chided, glancing sideways at Serenity with a stern look.

Maki glanced at her watch and sighed. "I don't have time for this. I have somewhere to be right now. So I'm sorry, yadda yadda yadda. Happy?" Maki said in a bored voice.

"NO WAY! You gotta _mean_ it!" Joey flared.

"Is it really so hard for you to just say two simple words?" Tea reprimanded.

"I'm sorry," Maki said in a slightly less bored tone.

"Well, that's somewhat of an improvement," Yugi commented.

"Whatever." Maki muttered and walked away from the group, towards Kaiba Corp.

Joey glared at her retreating back. "Dat girl _really_ gets on my nerves!"

"I just don't see why she has to be so cold and uncaring," Tea stated.

"Why don't we just try to forget it? No use spoiling our appetites like that, right?" Yugi said with a smile. The group nodded and they continued walking off towards the mall. Except for Duke, that is

…

'_I just _had_ to run into them again… Why can't they just leave me alone?'_ Maki continued along the sidewalk. She barely noticed as a tall figure in a white cloak came up behind her.

"MAKI! LOOK OUT!" a voice shouted.

Maki quickly turned to see what was going on and her eyes widened tenfold as she saw the tall figure overshadowing her. Even though he was covered up by a long white cloak with a hood, Maki could clearly see his golden blonde hair and his piercing blue eyes. In a spilt second, he dashed into the nearest alleyway and disappeared from sight, leaving a shocked Maki Kaichi and a confused ebony-haired boy in his wake.

Maki's breathing became heavy as she stared with wide eyes at the spot where the figure had just been standing five seconds ago. _'No, it can't be! IT CAN'T BE! Keith… I'm sure of it! It was Keith… But how? How did he find me? How did he even get to my world? If he's here… does that mean…? The other Rose Crusaders… A-are they here as well? And if they are… is… is _HE_ with them?'_

Maki was so out of it at that moment that she did not notice the emerald-eyed teen standing just a few feet away.

"Maki? Are you alright?" the boy asked and cast a worried glance her way. She did not hear it.

Fear was apparent in her eyes, a deep shocking fear that seemed to rip her very soul apart. She wanted nothing more than to forget the past, and in one quick moment, it seemed to have returned – to haunt her.

"Maki?" She heard it this time, but it was faint, as if it had been said from a distance.

The boy stepped closer and put a hand on Maki's shoulder. He gazed into her eyes. They looked so unnatural in their fearful state as if someone had torn all light that previously resided in them. He tried calling out to her again. His voice finally cut through and Maki blinked.

"W-what?" Maki whispered, somehow short of breath.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked worriedly, tightening his grip on her shoulder.

Maki gazed into his emerald green eyes, trying to figure out who he was. Her memory finally returned as did her breath.

"Duke?" Maki asked, finally registering who the boy was.

"Are you alright?" Duke asked; a worried look on his face. Even though she insulted his friends and clearly showed them that she did not want their friendship, seeing her frightened state made him want to comfort her. Not to mention he also had a slight crush on her ever since he first saw her.

Maki felt a strong hand on her shoulder and she glanced to see Duke's hand on it.

"Don't touch me!" she barked and pushed his hand away.

"Maki, who was that guy?" Duke asked, ignoring her previous action.

"That's none of _your_ business!" Maki shouted and turned to walk away, but before she could walk away, Duke took hold of her shoulder once again.

"I said don't touch me!"

"I just want to know if you're alright," Duke asked.

"I'm fine! Just leave me alone!" Maki shrieked and broke into a run, away from Duke. She did not know where she was going; all she knew was that she had to run away from there.

Duke ran up to the end of the block, where Maki rounded the corner, and turned to see her running form quickly dashing away. _'That wasn't the kind of normal fear you would see in girl who's just about to be attacked by some stranger. It looked as though… she knew who that guy was… as if she'd met him once before…' _His thoughts halted abruptly as he realized where Maki was running to. _'Why is she going _THERE_?'_

…

"Keith! You blew our cover! I leave you alone for five minutes and you jeopardize our plan?" Bonz scolded his much older partner.

"Aw, come on Bonz, I was just having some fun with her," Keith defended almost too happily. Maki's frightened look had certainly amused him. Even after being around her for three years, he had never seen her quite so scared, like a deer caught in a car's headlights.

"Keith, you are so incompetent!" Bonz spat, distain clear in his voice.

"Call me whatever you want. You should have seen her face! I promise I'll leave her alone now; her expression was enough to keep me amused for days," Keith said with excitement.

Bonz shook his head at his partner's bluntness and took a bite of the sandwich he had had bought during the five minutes when he'd run off and left Keith alone.

…

'_How did they find me? How did they get here? I thought the Rose Cards were only capable of summoning… On no… Wait… I forgot… They _can_ be used for dimension travel…'_

Maki stopped thinking as her feet halted to a stop. She had not exactly chosen a specific path when she ran away from Duke, so when she looked up the see where her feet had taken her, she was surprised to see that she was standing right in front of Kaiba Corp.

'_My feet led me… here? Well, I _was _headed here in the first place, but I wasn't exactly looking where I was going when I ran away from Duke. How did I end up here?'_ Maki mused as she looked up at the sparkling windows of the building; the sunlight reflecting of them beautifully.

Was it all a coincidence… or had fate taken her towards the building? Either way, she did not think too much of it as a smile tugged at her lips. She stared at the building for a few minutes more before walking inside. The fear she experienced not too long ago had subsided… for now.

**TBC…**

Heehee… The plot thickens! I have always wanted to say that! Ha! Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. I'm quite proud of how the ending came out. I'm sure you will all like the next chapter, but you will have to wait till I write that one. Well, leave a review and have a nice day!

P.S. – Don't forget to read "The Rose Duelist: War Stories!" I will try to have chapter two up soon. I'm two-thirds done with the chapter. Ja-ne!


	19. Rain, Fever, and the Third Scar

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… However, I do own Maki, Mr. (Morosou) Kaichi, and Mrs. (Yakima) Kaichi.

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.  
_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

I had so much fun reading your reviews for chapter 18… Two of them even had "Dun dun DUN…" in them. It was hilarious! You comments on Joey and Duke were funny too. Yes, Joey is stubborn, and _yes_ Duke _still_ likes Maki. He _is_ a "player" after all. Haha! Yes, Keith is an idiot! XD Take note that this is _NOT_ **Bandit** Keith, but "Rose Crusader" Keith, but you guys probably know that already. Yeah. Last but CERTAINLY not least… Seto… You'll see plenty of him in this chapter! YAY!

**IMPORTANT**! For those of you who _still _might not have noticed, I posted the prequel – "**The Rose Duelist: War Stories**" – a while ago. I highly suggest you all read it; otherwise this story will become confusing later on. Thank you. Enjoy the chapter!

On another note, when I originally planned this story, I had a few choice songs in mind that went perfectly with certain chapters. Do you understand what I mean? I picked out some songs for special emphasis on certain chapters. This chapter is the first of them. Sadly, there's a rule against posting lyrics to songs that you did not write yourself. So instead, I am going to tell you at the beginning of those specific chapters which song I had originally picked out for it. Then you can look up the lyrics yourselves if you would like. You do not necessarily have to, but I just thought I should let you know about that.

The song I picked for this chapter is "I Could Fall In Love" by "Selena."

**Chapter 19 – Rain, Fever, and the Third Scar…**

"Hey, Duke, where were you? We were about to go back and look for you," Tea stated as Duke wandered into the food court at Domino Mall. He remained silent, however, and he was not even paying attention to the gang; he actually passed by them without noticing.

"Duke, where are you goin, man?" Tristan asked as he chucked a crumpled up napkin at Duke's head.

"What? Oh, hi guys. I didn't see you there," he mumbled as he walked back and took a seat next to Yugi.

"Is there something on your mind, Duke?" Serenity inquired.

"Well… Sort of," he replied.

"What is it?" Tea asked.

"I kind of… followed Maki after she left," Duke began.

"What? Why did ya follow _her_ for?" Joey asked.

'_Because I like her… but I can't tell them that. Joey would go ballistic on me…'_ "Um, I wanted to… get a _real_ apology from her," Duke lied. _'Phew… Nice save…'_ "…but that's not the point. Before I even caught up with her, some weird guy in a white cloak came up behind her from a nearby alley."

"Some guy in a white cloak?" Tristan repeated.

Duke nodded. "Yeah, and it looked like he was going to attack her or something. So I called out to her and she turned around. Then as fast as he appeared, the guy disappeared into the alley. Maki just stood there, stock still. I don't think I've ever seen anyone more terrified in my life."

"Well, isn't it natural for someone to be scared if someone was just about to attack them?" Serenity suggested.

"Of course, but that wasn't the kind of fear that she was expressing. It was as if she already knew that guy."

"Hah! It wouldn't surprise me if she had a bunch of enemies chasing her, especially wit dat attitude of hers," Joey commented dryly.

"What happened after that, Duke?" Yugi asked, ignoring Joey's comment.

"I tried to talk to her, but she ran away from me. And you won't believe where she was heading," Duke said with a grimace.

"Where?" Tristan inquired.

"Kaiba Corp."

"What did I tell ya? Those two are like peas in a pod," Joey said and took a noticeably big bite of his hot dog.

'_Two peas in a pod… She wouldn't happen to… _like_ Kaiba, would she? No, who could _ever_ fall in love with that jerk anyway?'_

…

Maki sighed as she slumped into her desk chair. She turned the computer on halfheartedly. _'Why are they here? How did they find me? Most importantly, how _long_ have they been here?' _If the Rose Crusaders really did know where she was, then why didn't they show themselves to her already? What were they waiting for?

Maki tried to push the thoughts out of her mind as the computer finished starting up. _'Okay… Time to get back to work.'_

…

A few hours later, a distinguishable mop of ebony hair bounded into Maki's office and slipped behind and underneath Maki's desk. Maki blinked; it happened so quickly.

"Mokuba?" Maki asked as she poked her head under her desk where Mokuba was apparently hiding.

"Shh!" he whispered as he put a finger to his lips and grinned.

Maki raised an eyebrow in question. Mokuba said nothing but gestured for her to continue her work and mouthed the words "Pretend I'm not here." Maki gave him a questioning look but returned to her work nonetheless.

Not too much later, the door opened and a very ticked off CEO walked into the room. Maki looked up as soon as she heard the door open and could do nothing but stare at the young company president before her.

She skipped a breath. Even though she had already been back in her world for six days, she did not truly examine Seto Kaiba until now.

'_He's just as stunning as Rosenkreuz…'_

Her eyes trailed him up and down. He stood at a great height of 6'1''. His silky brunette hair was styled perfectly; not a single hair was out of place. His eyes were gorgeous pools with of blue with a cold yet alluring look about them. His tempting lips were pressed into a thin line. His clothing fit his form perfectly. Albeit he was wearing a black long-sleeved turtleneck shirt, his body looked well toned; he had to have worked out. His legs seemed to stretch on forever. His glorious white trench coat seemed to flutter about behind him gloriously, regardless of whether there was a breeze or not.

Seto seemed to notice Maki staring at him and he gave her a casual glare before clearing his throat. His action caught her attention and she quickly snapped back to reality.

"U-um. Yes?" Maki stuttered.

"You wouldn't happen to have seen Mokuba around here, would you?" he asked, straight to the point.

"Mokuba?" Maki asked and blinked. She immediately felt said boy shuffling under her desk. What should she say? She did not want to lie to Seto, but then again, she could not just give away Mokuba's position.

"…No, I haven't seen him all day," she lied.

Seto noticed her slight hesitation and his eyes scanned the room. It was a small office, so if Mokuba was hiding, he did not have many places to hide. In fact, the only place where Mokuba _could_ hide would be the desk. Seto made his way to the desk and his eyes quickly caught sight of some recognizable black hair poking out from inside the desk.

"Move aside," he commanded and Maki did as told.

"Mokuba, you can come out now, I know you're in there," Seto said, crossing his arms.

"Oh man," Mokuba whined as he slowly crawled out from under the desk.

"Sorry about that, Mokuba," Maki apologized.

"It's okay. So, um, what did you want, Seto?" Mokuba asked, knowing full well what his older brother wanted.

"Mokuba, you _know_ why I've been chasing you for the past thirty minutes. Now, hand it over," the older Kaiba replied.

Mokuba shook his head 'no.'

"Mokuba," Seto began in a warning tone, "I don't have time for this."

"That's just it, Seto! You don't have time for anything! I know the company's important to you, but you promised you would play with me today!" Mokuba exclaimed, his expression melting into one of sadness.

"I know I did, but that emergency came up and I had to cancel our plans. Now please give me that disk, Mokuba. I have to finish transferring that data, and I can't do it without that disk," Seto explained.

"You never have time for me anymore. You're always canceling any plans involving me. You don't even notice when I've been kidnapped until someone sends some kind of ransom!" Mokuba shouted, tears forming in his eyes.

Maki's eyes widened. She was shocked at this piece of information and she blushed, feeling ashamed that she was listening to what was becoming a personal family conversation. She slowly pushed herself against the wall, moving as far away as she could from the two brothers. She would have left the room, if it were not for her curiosity as to what Seto was going to do next.

Seto's eyes widened as well. Mokuba's words hit him – hard. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt. _'Is that what he really thinks of me?'_ His eyes immediately softened, he knelt down to Mokuba's level, and put a firm hand on Mokuba's shoulder.

"Mokuba… I'm… I'm sorry. You know I don't mean to neglect you. Please forgive me if I do, and don't you dare think for a second that I don't care about you, because I do. No matter how many times someone manages to kidnap you, I will _always_ get you back. If anyone ever hurts you, they will pay… _dearly_. You're all I have in this world, Mokuba and I could _never_ forgive myself if I ever lost you."

"Y-you mean that Seto?" Mokuba asked, a tear rolling down his cheek.

Seto wiped it away with his thumb and answered, "Of course I do."

Mokuba sniffled and rubbed his eyes with his shirtsleeve. He looked back up at his brother, whose eyes were alight with tenderness and affection that was reserved for him and him only. He grinned widely and the two brothers embraced for a minute.

"May I please have my disk back, now?" Seto asked politely.

Mokuba pouted and shook his head in mocking defiance.

"Really now," Seto said with a smirk. "Then there's only one way to get it from you."

"Uhh…" Mokuba mumbled, slowly backing away from his brother, who had a mysterious look on his face.

Seto's smirk grew as he stood up and began approaching the younger Kaiba. Mokuba, not looking where he was going, tripped over the garbage can and fell backwards. He lay sprawled on the floor, an easy target for the older Kaiba. In an instant, Seto kneeled before his younger brother and started tickling him.

"Eeep! No! Seto, hahahahaha, Seto sto-heeheehee-stop! Seto! Hahahahahahahaha! Come on! Heehee hahahahahahahahaha! Stop! Nooo!" Mokuba cried, wriggling under his brother's grip.

Seto smiled; seeing his brother's happiness brought him joy. After all, his whole life was dedicated to Mokuba; everything he did was for Mokuba's sake.

Neither of the two brothers seemed to notice Maki's presence in the room. She watched the brotherly exchange intently, a smile made its way to her lips. _'He may look like Rosenkreuz… but unlike Rosenkreuz, Seto Kaiba is actually sweet and caring. Everything he does is for his brother, not for some sick plan to rule a nation or whatnot.'_ Maki's smile widened as a new feeling and a certain amount of respect for the young CEO made its way to her heart.

…

After Seto's tickle-torture, Mokuba relented and returned the disk.

"Thank you, Mokuba. Now I promise that as soon as I'm done with this, we'll go home and we can do anything you want," Seto said, ruffling Mokuba's hair.

"Really?" Mokuba asked with a gleam of hope in his eyes.

"Really," Seto assured him and the younger Kaiba bounded out of the room happily. Seto sighed and stood up. It was not until then that he realized there was someone else in the room. He turned to face Maki.

"How long have you been there?" he asked, his face quickly contorting into a scowl.

"I-uh… I've been here the whole time. I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-to listen in on such a private conversation." Maki stuttered and stared at floor to avoid Seto's gaze.

Seto gave her an icy glare. _'How dare she just sit there so smugly after what she saw? No one is allowed to see my emotions! How did I not notice her there before? I couldn't have been_ that_ caught up with Mokuba, could I? No. It was as if she disappeared…'_

"Get back to work, Kaichi," Seto said icily and left the room without another word.

'_Did he just call me… Kaichi? I must have really upset him.'_ Maki thought with a sigh. She shook the thought away and resumed her work.

…

Seto sat down at his desk and was just about to put his disk into the disk-tray when a thought struck. _'Wait… Kaichi… Why does that name suddenly sound so recognizable? 'It was as if she disappeared.' Disappeared… Kaichi… Why does that sound so familiar?'_

Seto began a search on his computer. The girl had already been there for six days, so why was it that her name suddenly became so familiar _now_?

After a thirty-minute search, he found an old newspaper article on the internet in one of Japan's newspaper archives. It was dated three years ago.

'_What's this?'_ he thought as he began reading the article titled "Fourteen-Year-Old Mysteriously Disappears without a Trace."

"Fourteen-year-old and two-year reigning Duel Monsters champion of Omihachiman City of the Shiga Prefecture, Maki Kaichi, disappeared without a trace during the final match of Omihachiman's Duel Monsters Championship Tournament precisely two weeks ago. A search for the girl was immediately commenced, but Omihachiman officials found no signs of a struggle. Eyewitnesses of the disappearance claim that they were blinded by a bright light for a second and then she was gone. Officials claim that there was no possible way the girl could have disappeared in a second. However, a search of the entire Shiga Prefecture was initiated.

"After a long five-day search, officials could find no clue as to the whereabouts of the young Miss Kaichi. A search of the entire Kinki Region was started two days ago and Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi have offered a significant reward for the return of their only daughter. "We just want her back home," said the mother of Maki Kaichi, Mrs. Yakima Kaichi. They urge the entire country of Japan to notify authorities immediately if any clues are found."

Seto's eyebrows knit together in confusion. He did some more searching and found another, smaller, article dated two years ago. It was titled "Fourteen-Year-Old Still Not Found."

"After a grueling year of searching throughout all of Japan, police officials have decided to end the case of the disappearance of now fifteen-year-old Maki Kaichi of Omihachiman City of the Shiga Prefecture. No clues have been found whatsoever as to the whereabouts of the only Kaichi child. Friends and family have gathered to pay their respects to the distraught parents of the young girl. Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi continue on with the hope of finding their daughter someday."

Seto searched some more but found no other articles containing the Kaichi name other than similar articles from the same years with no more information than the ones he already read.

…**Flashback…**

"Seto, where are we going?" Mokuba asked his older brother.

Before Seto could answer, Maki interrupted him. "We're going to see my parents, Mokuba. We were separated three years ago. I came back yesterday and I asked your brother here to help me find them."

…**End Flashback…**

'_She never mentioned _how_ she disappeared… I don't think her parents did either…'_

…**Flashback…**

"Where have you been, Maki? You were in the middle of the final duel at that tournament back at our old hometown when you suddenly disappeared without a trace! Were you safe? Were you alone?" Mrs. Kaichi asked; her voice was laced with worry.

…**End Flashback…**

'_Every single one of these articles doesn't say anything else other than the fact that she disappeared. No one seems to know how she disappeared. That doesn't make any sense. Were all of these eyewitnesses deluded? Every single one of them claims they were blinded by a bright light and then she was gone. It doesn't make any sense!'_ Seto frowned at the lack of information. _'However… There is one person who knows the full story… and that's Maki Kaichi herself. I'll have to ask her about that sometime.'_

Normally, Seto Kaiba would not pry into someone's personal life, but he had to admit, a story as mysterious as Maki Kaichi's _was_ interesting and if there was one thing Seto hated, it was being uninformed of anything.

…

Maki yawned loudly. She glanced at the clock on the bottom corner of her computer screen. _'Oh my gosh! It's 10 pm already?'_ She had been working so diligently on the tournament rules; she had not realized it was quite late at night. She quickly notified Seto that she was retiring for the night and his limo dropped her off at home.

…

The next morning, or should I say _afternoon_, Maki woke up to her mother's shaking her.

"Maki… Maki, wake up! You're going to be late."

"Eh? Wha?" Maki asked groggily as she shifted in her bed.

"Maki, you should've left for Kaiba Corp. thirty minutes ago!" her mother exclaimed.

"Kaiba… Corp? Whaaa… OH NO!" Maki shot up in bed and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"1:34. You overslept, sweetie," Mrs. Kaichi replied.

"I overslept? Oh no!" Maki literally jumped out of bed, grabbed some clothes from her closet and changed. Mrs. Kaichi left the room.

Suddenly, a flash of lighting and a roar of thunder caught Maki's attention. _'Oh great… Just my luck… I wake up late and it's raining…'_ Maki sprinted out of her room, down the stairs, and towards the front door,

"Maki! Aren't you going to eat something?" Mrs. Kaichi called out.

"No mom! I'll have something later on!"

"Wait! Aren't you going to take an umbrella? It's raining!"

"I'M LATE MOM!" Maki shouted as she slammed the door behind her.

Mrs. Kaichi sighed. "I just hope she doesn't get sick."

…

Maki ran through the streets of Domino, despite the rain that was pelting her. _'Agh! I'm late! I'm late!'_ She had to stop at a corner to let the cars pass by. Unfortunately, a car sped by, splashing a considerable amount of water all over Maki's clothes.

'_Oh great… Now I'm completely soaked…'_ As soon as she was able to cross, she continued speeding through the streets to get to Kaiba Corp.

…

Maki finally made it inside, yet she was ultimately soaked. She suddenly shivered. Despite the rain, it was a hot day. Therefore, the building had the air conditioning on. The receptionist at the main desk looked up and saw the soaking wet Maki and rushed over to her with a towel. Apparently, Maki had not been the only one who had come in soaking wet. A few people were walking around the lobby with damp hair and dripping clothes.

"Oh dear! You too, miss? It seems to be raining cats and dogs today," the receptionist commented as she handed Maki the towel.

"Thank you," Maki thanked the receptionist as she tried her best to dry herself off.

"You're welcome." With that, the receptionist sat back down at the main desk and continued some paperwork. Maki walked into the elevator and pressed the button to get to her floor.

…

When Maki stepped out of the elevator, she bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I-"

"You're late, Kaichi," interrupted the familiar voice.

Maki looked up and met Seto's ice blue eyes. "U-um yes, I'm sorry Kaiba. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't," he began to walk away but then he paused, "Haven't you ever heard of an umbrella?" Then he stepped into the elevator, leaving his question hanging in the air and Maki staring after him.

Once he was gone, Maki made her way to her office and immediately sat down to work. She was just about to turn the computer on when a sneeze escaped her.

"Oh great. I hope I don't get sick. That's the last thing I need," she mumbled as the computer screen flickered to life.

Some hours later, Maki's eyes began drooping and she was quite hot, despite the cool air from the air conditioner.

'_Ugh… My head… Why do I feel so tired? I'll just put my head down for a few minutes… That shouldn't be too bad…'_ Maki folded her arms and laid her head on top. Her eyes quickly shut themselves as she drifted off to sleep.

…

"_I won Bakura! It's time to hand over your Red Rose Card!" Maki exclaimed triumphantly._

_Bakura glared at her but handed her the coveted Red Rose Card. Maki now had seven Red Rose cards in her possession. One more and the war would soon be over._

"_Don't think you'll get away so easily, Rose Duelist!" Bakura cried out as he mounted his horse and rode off, leaving the ongoing battle behind him._

'_What did he mean by that?' Maki thought._

"_Miss Kaichi! Did you win?" a male voice asked, his voice was as loud as possible so that she could hear him over the booming noises of gunshots and cannons. He had long silvery hair that flowed behind him as he rode on his horse._

_Maki turned to see who had spoken. "Pegasus! Yes! I won!"_

"_Well then, we should head back to see Master Rosenkreuz before you set out to duel Prince Yugi. He's not too far from here, so I'll take you to him," Pegasus said and held out his hand to help Maki climb onto his horse._

_Her heart skipped a beat. 'Rosenkreuz… I haven't seen him in four months! I can't wait to see hi-'_

_Her thoughts stopped there as a sudden jolt of pain coursed through her right shoulder. She lost her balance and fell off the horse._

"_MISS KAICHI!" Pegasus shouted as he jumped off his horse and rushed to her side._

_Maki screamed in pain as Pegasus turned her over to make sure she was alive._

"_You've been shot! I must get you to the medics now!" he cried as he picked her up and placed her in some sort of comfortable position on his horse. He then mounted it and rode off._

…

_Pegasus carried Maki into the hospital wing of the nearby fort, taken over by Rose Crusaders and Yorkist soldiers. Screams of pain from various sections of the wing could be heard. _

_Maki shivered as she remembered her last time in a hospital wing. Her first time was for her stomach wound. Her second time was for the stab wound in her thigh. However, those first two times were merely deep cuts and nothing more. This time, she had a bullet inside her right shoulder. The doctors would have to operate on her to remove the bullet._

_She glanced around the wing. She could clearly see a few of the patients, some with minor wounds, and others who were losing blood quickly. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched a soldier having his leg amputated. These were the horrors of war, images that would be etched in her mind forever. She quickly turned away and sat down to wait for someone to attend her._

_What would happen to her? Would she turn out alright like she did after her first two wounds… or would she lose more than just some blood this time?_

…

Seto was working on the Duelist Invitation list. _'Hmm… Kaichi should be done by now… It's been three days… What's keeping her?' _He tried instant messaging her.

**BEWDKaibaCorp:** Kaichi, are you done with those tournament rules yet?

He waited for her response. None came.

**BEWDKaibaCorp:** Kaichi?

Nothing.

**BEWDKaibaCorp:** Kaichi, are you there?

'_Where is she?'_ he thought. Seto did not like to waste time, so he stood up, left his office, and headed towards Maki's.

…

"_What's going on in here?" a commanding voice asked as he waltzed into the hospital wing in that glorious manner of his._

"_Rosenkreuz!" Maki exclaimed and shot up from her seat, but a sharp flash of pain made her cry out and sit back down. She held her right shoulder tightly to apply pressure to the wound._

"_She was shot," Pegasus explained._

"_WHAT? Hmm… Luckily it was just her shoulder… We can't afford to lose the Rose Duelist now that victory is almost within our grasp," Seto Rosenkreuz commented._

_Maki stared up at him despite the trembling pain that caused her whole body to shake._

"_Miss Kaichi, we're ready for you," Ishizu said as she poked her head into the room. She herself was one of the chief medics of the wing, when she was not off performing her Rose Crusader duties._

_Maki bit her lip nervously as she walked into the small room they had prepared for her, clutching her shoulder all the while. She feared the worst. It was the 1480s after all. Science and medicine were not as advanced as they were in her time._

Seto walked into the dark room. The sun had set some hours ago, yet not a single light was on in the room except for the light from the computer screen. He scanned the room and his eyes landed on a distinguishable lump at the desk.

'_Kaichi… Looks like she fell asleep…'_

Seto walked over to her and frowned at her sleeping form. She was wasting time by sleeping after all. He was just about to shake her awake when her whole body seemed to tremble. He thought he heard her mumble something, so he leaned forward to listen.

"No… Please don't… Don't you have anything to numb the pain before you operate? Nothing? Wait… Please! I just want the pain to stop! What are you-" She stopped there and what she did next took Seto by surprise.

"NOOO!" she screamed and shot up in her seat. Seto took a few steps back in surprise.

"Why won't they stop? The images, the nightmares, they just keep coming!" Maki mumbled to herself as she held her head in her hands, unaware that someone else was in the room. Her breathing came out in short gasps and her body kept shaking.

"Sleeping on the job will have you nowhere, Kaichi," Seto commented airily, letting Maki know of his presence.

Maki dropped her hands and quickly turned around in her seat to face the speaker. "K-Kaiba! What are-" She never finished her sentence; she was still breathing heavily.

Seto was about to say, "Have a nice nap?" but thought twice about it. Maki did not look like she had a nice nap at all. She tried her hardest to mask the look of fear and despair on her face, but failed miserably.

"If you're going to waste time by sleeping, I'd suggest you do that at home. Have you finished looking over those tournament rules?" Seto asked.

Maki's breathing slowed down, yet it was still not normal, and she found the words she wanted to say. "I-I'm very sorry, Kaiba. I-I didn't mean to fall asleep. Perhaps I should go home. I promise I'll finish those rules for you tomorrow," she said, her voice still weak.

"You're really trying my patience, Kaichi. I'll let you off for today, but make sure you're here tomorrow, awake and on time."

Maki nodded, stood up, and started to leave. She only managed to walk a few steps in front of where Seto was standing before her body decided to fail her. Seto stared at her with a raised eyebrow. _'Why did she suddenly stop?'_

'_No… I have to… stay awake… I… Why do I feel so weak?'_ Maki thought as her eyes began to droop and she tried to keep her balance. Her body could no longer take it; she lost her strength and she started to fall forward. Seto reacted quickly by grabbing her right arm, turning her so that she faced him, and pulling her into his arms.

"Kaichi? Kaichi, wake up. Wake up!" Seto exclaimed. Maki did not react. That was when Seto noticed her breath was short and her body was quite warm, despite the air conditioning in the room. He also noticed the beads of sweat all around her forehead and neck.

He gulped. A sudden shiver went down his spine. He was not used to having girls in his arms like this. He had never even given girls a second glance; much less have one in his arms.

He felt her forehead. _'Great… Just what I needed… She has a fever! Damn it… Now what? I'll have to take her home myself…' _He saw her jacket lying over the back of her chair, so he grabbed it and attempted to put it on her.

"What's this?" he mumbled as his fingers brushed against her shoulder. He pushed her hair aside to take a look and his eyes widened as he saw it – a highly visible scar. It was no ordinary scar; it was as if a small chunk of her skin had been cut out. _'When did she get this? More importantly, _how_ did she get this scar?'_

Seto glanced at the scar once more before draping Maki's jacket over her shoulders and picking her up, bridal-style. Her words came back to him. _"Why won't they stop? The images, the nightmares, they just keep coming!"_ He glanced at the sleeping girl in his arms before leaving the office and heading for the elevator.

Apparently, there was more to the girl than Seto had originally thought. She was not your average teenage hormone-driven girl. She was not even the airhead that he might have made her out to be when she first stepped into his office seven days ago. Her past was a mysterious and perplexing one that no one but she knew about and it only intrigued Seto. He normally would not bother, but there was just something about her that made him want to know more, more about her and more about her past.

**TBC…**

Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Personally, this one is one of my favorites. I made a nice long ten pages and I would have made it longer, but it is 12:30 AM here and I should go to sleep soon. Anyway, it seems we have some feeling generating on Maki's side. As for Seto, well, we'll have to see, but he does seem to be interested in Maki's past. Will Maki get better? Will we see the Rose Crusaders again? Find out on the next chapter and please review.

I think I am halfway done with this story by now if I have not already passed the halfway point. So I expect about 15 to 20 more chapters, depending on how long I make them.

One more thing, please note that I will now post review replies on my xanga. The link is in my profile, if you would like to check it out. Thanks!


	20. I'm With You

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… However, I do own Maki, Mr. (Morosou) Kaichi, and Mrs. (Yakima) Kaichi.

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.  
_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

Thanks for the reviews guys! Since fanfiction .net has its own review reply service, I will not be using my xanga for that anymore. However, I will be using it to post sneak peeks of future chapters for either The Rose Duelist: War Stories, Life At My House, or this story. (Sorry for the long wait. I blame homework and writer's block.)

**By the way…** I highly suggest you all read "**The Rose Duelist: War Stories**"; otherwise this story will become confusing later on, especially the beginning of this chapter. I posted the third chapter of "The Rose Duelist: War Stories." Thank you. Enjoy the chapter!

The song I picked for this chapter is "I'm With You" by "Avril Lavigne."

**Chapter 20 – I'm With You…**

A pair of shining violet-gray eyes met Seto as he stepped off the elevator.

"Seto? What happened to Maki?" Mokuba asked.

"She's sick. I'm taking her home. Tell Roland to get the limo ready," Seto replied.

"Yes, Seto," Mokuba said and ran off to get Roland.

…

"You did what? Keith, you incompetent fool!" a commanding voice shouted as he slammed his fist on the table angrily. He and six others wearing the White Rose badges were currently sitting around a wooden mahogany table, not only in another country, but in another world and time period.

"Hey, how come you're not blaming Bonz for this? You sent him with me to make sure I wouldn't get into any trouble!" Keith retorted.

"Oh, you really expect a fifteen-year-old to baby-sit a twenty-four-year-old on an empty stomach," Bonz added sarcastically as he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

"Keith, I shouldn't have had to have Bonz baby-sit you in the first place! I specifically told all of you what the plan was and I expected nothing less than perfection!" the commanding voice scolded as its owner began to pace around the room.

"Yeah, well you know me, Rosenkreuz. I'm no good when it comes to following orders, especially if it involves a lot of boredom. I'm the so called 'fool' of this group, just like Bakura is the so called 'fool' of the Lancastrians." Keith stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, but unlike you, Bakura doesn't jeopardize a plan when it absolutely counts," Pegasus commented mockingly as he brushed a strand of hair out of the right side of his face, his left side still covered by his long shimmering hair.

"So she knows we're watching her, big deal! It's not as if she can do anything about it. You should have seen the fear in her eyes. She'll surrender to us if we scare her enough," Keith said in his defense.

"Don't assume everything, Keith. You may have instilled some fear in her, but that does not mean that she'll give in so easily. Have you forgotten what she went through during the war? She survived three frightful wounds and yet she continued on until the end," Ishizu interrupted.

"Precisely. She may have betrayed us in the end - that damn traitor - but if there's one thing I admire about her, it's her determination," Rosenkreuz declared.

"So what do you want me to do about it? It's not as if I can turn back time and undo what I did," Keith spat.

"Perhaps we can find a way to force her to surrender to us," Pegasus suggested.

"How do you propose we do that?" a boy with brown hair and purple bangs asked as he quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, didn't we already establish that she won't give in so easily?" another boy with aqua-colored bowl-shaped hair and bug-like golden glasses added.

"We'll use her friends," Pegasus explained. "I'm sure that under certain circumstances, she'd be willing to give up."

"Excellent proposal, Pegasus. Bonz, do you know who her friends are?" Rosenkreuz asked the young zombie-like boy as he stopped pacing about the dark room and took his seat at the head of the table.

Bonz shook his head. "Not exactly. We could not get close enough to her to find that out without giving away our position."

"However," Keith interrupted, "One thing we _do_ know is that everyday, she goes to a place called Kaiba Corp."

"Kaiba Corp.?" asked a towering husky man with dark blue hair and a pair of threatening black eyes.

"I did a little research and found out that it's a big company owned by a young man named Seto Kaiba. It's amazing how advanced that girl's world is. She's way ahead of our time as far as technology goes," Bonz declared.

"Seto Kaiba? Just like your name, Rosenkreuz," Ishizu commented.

"Without the 'Rosenkreuz' part attached, though," pointed out the boy with the brown hair and purple bangs.

"Also… He looks _exactly_ like you," Bonz said to Rosenkreuz.

"Hmm… We can use this to our advantage," murmured Rosenkreuz. "Ishizu," he called to the raven haired woman sitting next to him.

"Yes Rosenkreuz?"

"Find out everything you can about her - what she does everyday, who her friends are, where she usually goes. I want you to know everything. Do _not_ let her find out and keep a low profile. If what Bonz says is true, and her world does have a counterpart of me, then there is a possibility that the rest of you have counterparts in her world," Rosenkreuz said with a serious expression on his face.

"I'll do as you wish," Ishizu replied with a slight bow of her head.

"Excellent. Now we just have to wait for the perfect moment to strike," Rosenkreuz said with a smirk.

…

"We're here Mr. Kaiba," Roland declared from the front seat.

Seto said nothing in return, stepped out of the car, walked over to the other side of the limo, and opened the door. He gently picked up the sleeping Maki from her seat and carried her to the front door of her house. He rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door.

A full minute passed by and no one answered the door. Seto rang the doorbell again. He waited for another three minutes. No one came to answer the door.

'_Damn it! Where are her parents? I can't stand here with her all day, and there is no way I am taking her to my place. Hmm… She probably has her keys with her,'_ Seto thought to himself.

He gently put her down and held her up against the wall, merely an inch away from the door, with her head resting at the crook of his neck. He had trouble holding her up, but he managed to keep her from falling by pushing her against the wall with his body. He mentally cursed himself for having to support her body with his own, and yet, he did not feel uncomfortable at all.

'_What the hell?'_ Should he not feel uncomfortable for being in such an awkward position? He pushed the thought away and quickly dug around in Maki's pocket for her house keys. He was too preoccupied with taking her inside the house that he did not realize he could have asked for Roland's help.

He finally found them and he tried to open the lock with one hand while trying to support Maki's weight with the rest of his body. He managed to unlock the door and he pushed it open. He took a step back and in one swift movement, he picked Maki up before she fell.

He carried her inside the house and gently lay her down on the couch. _'Now what? There's obviously no one here and I can't leave her alone, especially in her condition,'_ Seto thought and turned to look around in the empty house. He turned the living room light onas his eyes caught sight of a piece of paper lying on the dining room table. He picked it up and read the neat writing.

"Dear Maki or Morosou,

I had to step out for a bit to do some grocery shopping. I might be out for a while, so do not worry if you come home before I do. – Yakima"

Seto put the note down and took a glance around the kitchen. His gaze landed on a bottle of Tylenol sitting on the kitchen counter. He walked into the kitchen, opened the bottle, and took two of the little pills. He reached for a glass and filled it with water.

He walked back into the living room and he set the pills and the glass of water down on the glass table in the middle of the room, in front of the couch. He glanced back down at the sleeping girl to find her shivering. There were not any blankets or sheets lying around, so Seto did the only thing he could do to cover her up. He took off his long white trench coat and draped it over her shivering body.

"Kaichi, wake up," he murmured as he kneeled down next to her and nudged her shoulder. She merely mumbled something incoherent.

"Wake up. You need to take some medicine," he said as he nudged her a bit more forcefully.

"Mm?" she mumbled as her eyes slowly opened. She squinted as her eyes tried to adjust to the light.

"Here, take this," Seto said as he held up the glass of water and the Tylenol pills.

Maki blinked in confusion with her eyes only half open. She lifted her head and parted her lips slightly as if expecting Seto to place the pills in her mouth himself. Seto's eyebrow rose at Maki's action. _'Does she really expect me to…?' _He sighed and looked into her eyes. They were dull and tired, not only from her fever, but from something else. What that something else was, Seto had no idea.

He suddenly felt a knot in his stomach as well as a sudden impulse to say something comforting to her. He pushed the thought away and slipped the pills into her slightly open mouth. He then pressed the glass of water against her lower lip and slowly raised it as the cold liquid poured into her mouth. She gulped the pills down and then laid her head back down on the arm of the couch as Seto placed the glass back on the table.

"Thanks mom," Maki muttered, barely audible.

'_Mom?'_ Seto thought as he quirked an eyebrow. _'She must be too tired to notice that I'm here instead of her mother. Oh well, it's for the best. Then she won't have to bring it up the next time she sees me.'_

Seto took a seat in a nearby armchair and waited for one of Maki's parents to come home.

…

Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi both arrived to a quiet home.

"Hello darling," Morosou greeted his wife with a soft peck on the lips.

"It seems our Maki is home early," Yakima pointed out.

"Yes," he replied simply as he turned to glance at the obvious slick black vehicle parked right in front of their house. "Why is there a limo parked here?"

Yakima turned to see what her husband was talking about. "I don't know, Morosou."

The couple opened the door of their house and stepped inside. What met their eyes was surely a surprise. A young man of about seventeen years old with silky brown hair and cold blue eyes was seated in one of their armchairs, typing away at inhuman speeds on a shiny silver laptop bearing the Kaiba Corp. logo. Their daughter was lying on the couch, snuggled underneath a long white trench coat. The young man's eyes rose to meet theirs and he immediately stopped typing.

"I was wondering how long I would have to wait here," he said as he saved whatever he was working on, shut off the laptop and closed it. He must have brought it inside the house from the limo sometime while he was waiting.

"May I ask why you are sitting here alone with our daughter, Mr. Kaiba?" Morosou Kaichi asked, immediately recognizing the young man as the president of Kaiba Corporation. He did not like the idea of his daughter being home alone with a boy her age, even if said boy was a big business figure with billions of dollars at his disposal. Morosou Kaichi was still a father after all, and like most fathers, he felt the natural urge to protect his daughter from any and all members of the opposite gender. Unlike some fathers, who would gladly do anything to ensure their daughter's futures, Morosou Kaichi did not have the urge to throw his daughter into the arms of a billionaire. He still cared greatly for Maki and wanted to be sure that whomever she fell in love with would be a trustworthy, loyal, and loving man would take care of her. Money was a second priority, not a first. Maki did not need billions; she just needed enough for her needs and wants.

Yakima Kaichi, however, quickly morphed into "worried mother" mode and immediately noticed Maki's short breath and the wet cloth neatly lying on her forehead. Seto must have placed it there sometime during his waiting for her parents to come home. "What's wrong with Maki?"

"A slight fever, perhaps a cold as well. It's nothing too serious to worry about," Seto replied curtly. "I gave her some Tylenol about forty-five minutes ago and I wet the cloth ten minutes ago."

"You stayed here and waited for us this whole time?" Mrs. Kaichi asked, astonished that someone would be kind enough to watch over her sick daughter while neither she nor her husband were there.

Seto took the coat off Maki's body and draped it over his arm. He picked up his laptop and turned to face the Kaichi couple. "Don't let her come to work tomorrow. I expect her to be in her office the next day unless she is still too sick to stand."

"_Why won't they stop? The images, the nightmares, they just keep coming!" _Maki's words flowed back into Seto's mind. He pushed the thought away immediately. _'I'm sure she has told them already. It's her business, not mine.'_

"Too sick to stand? You just said it wasn't serious!" Mrs. Kaichi exclaimed worriedly.

"It isn't. Just remind her to use an umbrella next time it's raining." With that, Seto walked out of the house; leaving the two Kaichis blinking in confusion in his wake.

…

"Are you all done packing, Yugi?"

"Yes, grandpa!" Yugi Motou shouted from his room. "Isn't this great Yami? We'll be leaving for Egypt in three days! I can't wait." the young boy exclaimed as he zipped his suitcase shut; his darker half floating beside him.

"I'm excited as well, aibou. Perhaps traveling to Egypt will help me recover some of my lost memories," the ancient spirit said in response.

"I hope so Yami. We've been planning this trip for weeks. Even if you can't remember anything, at least we'll have some fun together, right?" Yugi asked with hopeful eyes and an equally hopeful smile.

The pharaoh chuckled. "Of course we will, Yugi."

The young boy beamed in response. (Yes, there is significance to this scene.)

…

"Maki dear, wake up," Yakima Kaichi murmured as she tried to nudge her daughter awake. The soft rumble of Seto Kaiba's limo drifted off as the vehicle drove away.

"No," Maki mumbled and groaned.

"Maki, you can't sleep on the couch. You have your own bed," Mrs. Kaichi said.

"I don't want to," Maki mumbled, and she was not exactly referring to where she wanted to sleep.

"What do you mean you don't want to?" Morosou Kaichi asked.

"Please. Don't!" Maki gasped as she grimaced.

"Maki?" her mother asked.

"No. No. No! Stop. Please stop," the sick girl continued mumbling.

"Maki, wake up. I think you're having a nightmare," Mrs. Kaichi said and tried to shake her daughter awake.

"What are you doing? No. Please stop. Please stop!" Maki gasped, her breathing steadily growing heavier.

"Maki! Wake up!" her mother shouted worriedly.

"What could she be dreaming about?" Maki's father wondered aloud.

"Stop. Stop. STOP!" Maki screamed and shot up, nearly bumping heads with her mother, who jolted backwards in surprise.

"MAKI! Just what on earth is wrong?" Mrs. Kaichi cried in desperation. She was so worried about her daughter; it was driving her crazy.

"M-mom?" Maki asked and looked up to see her mother's worry-stricken face.

"Maki, what's wrong? Please tell us! You can't keep us worrying about you like this and not letting us know what is bothering you," Mrs. Kaichi pleaded.

"Mom… I… Oh, mom!" Maki cried and threw herself into her mother's arms.

"Maki…" her mother trailed off as Maki buried herself in her embrace.

…

"So this is where she lives?" a female voice asked, peering from behind a tree at the Kaichi residence.

"Yes," another, younger, malevoice replied.

"Alright. I'll make a mental note of that and return tomorrow morning. Thank you Bonz," the first voice said.

"No problem. We should head back now."

"Right."

With that, the two shadows pulled out some cards, chanted a spell and disappeared into nothingness.

…

Mr. Kaichi sat behind Maki and wrapped his arms around his daughter and wife.

"Mom, dad, I'm sorry. I just can't tell you yet. I-I'm not ready," Maki choked out.

Mrs. Kaichi sighed. _'Maki was never like this before. She hasn't been like this since the third grade. What could've happened to her during her disappearance? She's changed so much and I'm scared. She doesn't seem able to handle this on her own. I want to help her so much but I don't know what's wrong. What can I do?'_

"But I will. I promise I will. Just not yet," was Maki's muffled reply.

"Be sure that you do, Maki. You can't keep us in the dark forever," Mr. Kaichi responded.

"I will dad. I will," Maki replied with a yawn. "Hey, how did I get home anyway? The last thing I remember was… falling asleep in my office back at Kaiba Corp." Maki muttered as she looked up at her parents. _'Of course… Kaiba woke me up and then I think I collapsed after that…'_

Morosou and Yakima looked at each other.

"Well, he brought you home, Maki," Yakima answered.

"He?" Maki asked and cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Mr. Kaiba," Morosou replied.

"K-Kaiba brought me home? You mean he came _with_ me?" Maki asked and blinked in disbelief.

"Yes. You don't remember?" Mrs. Kaichi asked.

"She must have been unconscious the whole time," Mr. Kaichi commented to his wife.

"He stayed here with you too. I think he said it was forty-five minutes. He gave you some Tylenol, put a wet cloth on your forehead, and he even covered you up with his coat," Mrs. Kaichi explained.

"He… he did?" Maki asked. Her mother nodded with a smile. A vague memory suddenly flowed into Maki's mind.

"_Wake up. You need to take some medicine," a voice said as its owner nudged Maki._

"_Mm?" she mumbled as her eyes slowly opened. She squinted as her eyes tried to adjust to the light._

"_Here, take this," the voice said as its owner held up a glass of water and two Tylenol pills._

_Maki parted her lips slightly and the person slipped the pills into her slightly open mouth. The person then pressed the glass of water against her lower lip and slowly raised it as the cold liquid poured into her mouth. She gulped the pills down and then laid her head back down on the arm of the couch as the person placed the glass back on the table._

"_Thanks mom," Maki muttered, barely audible._

Maki blushed in embarrassment from the memory. _'I… I thought he was mom… He… took care of me?'_ She bit her lower lip and her cheeks reddened even more. Another wave of respect and perhaps even something else washed over her heart, warming her body, and calming her down from her previous frightful nightmare.

"We should find some way to thank him. It's not everyday a big company president would take time off from work to take care of our daughter," Mrs. Kaichi replied with a small laugh, the worried look from before finally leaving her facial features.

"Yes, but I think we should all go to sleep, first," Mr. Kaichi stated as the three family members stood up from the couch. "Oh, and Maki," he added.

"Yes, dad?"

"Mr. Kaiba specifically told us not to let you go to work tomorrow. You need your rest if you want to get better."

Maki smiled and nodded. _'Darn… I was hoping I'd get to see him tomorrow, to thank him…' _she thought. "If that's what he said. Goodnight dad, goodnight mom."

"Goodnight Maki," Mr. and Mrs. Kaichi said in unison and watched as their daughter trudged up the stairs to her room.

**TBC…**

Nice ending for the chapter, no? I was not sure what to pick for the title, since there was supposed to be a little more for this chapter, but I decided to save it for the next chapter. Therefore, my original title for this chapter would not work. I ended up picking the same title as the name of the song I picked for this chapter. Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter. There was a bit of fluff in there for those who like fluff, and some foreshadowing as well. Maki's developing some more feelings for our dear CEO. As for Seto,_ something_ seems to be going on in his head, but we cannot be sure yet. I'll be looking forward to your reviews.

Also, for those of you looking forward to the tournament, do no worry. The Rose Tournament will come in about one or two more chapters I believe. Which reminds me, are any of you good duelists out there? I need someone (or maybe two people so I can have a second opinion) to help me with a future chapter(s). I am not so good at dueling myself, so I will need some help with two or three duels in the story. There will be only three or four duels in total, the first of which I will write up myself, but I need help with the other two or three. Please let me know if you would like to help and I will reply with more detail as to what I need.

Fans of "Life At My House," please note that I have posted three New Year's chapters on "**A Life At My House Christmas**," NOT "Life At My House." Some people still have not noticed, and I do not want anyone left out of the loop. Have a nice holiday!


	21. Plans and Feelings

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… However, I do own Maki, Mr. (Morosou) Kaichi, and Mrs. (Yakima) Kaichi.

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.  
_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

Thanks for the reviews! They are great ego-boosters, especially the long ones with great ideas and silly compliments.

Well, I will now be using my xanga to post up music videos of the songs I pick for these chapters. Right now, I have Chapter 20's song up because I can't find the music video for this chapter. Anyway, let us just move on with this chapter. There is more fluff in this one. Yay for fluff!

**By the way…** I highly suggest you all read "**The Rose Duelist: War Stories**"; otherwise this story will become confusing later on, especially the beginning of this chapter. I posted the third chapter of "The Rose Duelist: War Stories." Thank you.

The song I picked for this chapter is "Things I'll Never Say" by "Avril Lavigne."

**Chapter 21 – Plans and Feelings…**

"Seto? You've been gone for an hour. Did something happen to Maki? Is she okay?" Mokuba asked. His worry for the older girl was obvious. He had eventually come to like Maki, especially after she tried to help him in his little plan of "Keep-Seto's-Disk-Away" the day before. Of course, Maki had not gone as far as saving his life like Tea Gardner had back in Battle City, but she was still nice to him. For the past few days that she had been working at Kaiba Corp., he would occasionally wander into her office and enjoy her company when he had nothing better to do.

Seto sighed and ruffled his younger brother's hair. "She's fine kiddo. I'm just a little late because I had to wait until her parents arrived home."

"Wait...? You mean you stayed with Maki until her parents got home?" Mokuba asked, a slight grin gracing his mouth.

Seto hesitated in answering as he looked down at the small grin and the twinkle in his brother's eyes, which usually meant that he was just about to hatch some insane mischievous plan. Seto remembered the time Mokuba "accidentally" spilled some laundry detergent all over him, when it was actually meant for Roland. "...Yes."

Mokuba's grin widened tenfold. "So were at her house and the two of you were... alone?" Mokuba asked suggestively.

Seto's eyes widened for a second as he realized what Mokuba was hinting at. "Mokuba, if you're suggesting that I have some sort of feelings for her, then I'll tell you right now that I don't. Yes, I stayed with her, but she was asleep the whole time and I'd rather she not know about my being there." He headed back towards his office with Mokuba in tow.

"She was asleep the _whole_ time?" Mokuba inquired.

Seto made a slight growl, signaling that his brother's inane questions were beginning to annoy him. "Yes, Mokuba."

Mokuba noticed the irritation in his brother's voice, so he quit his little interrogation and did not mention the whole incident all night.

…

The next morning, Maki woke up huddled under a silk white sheet that contrasted with the darkness of her shiny black bed. The bright summer rays of the sun poured in though the half-open window and glimmered off the silver lines, curves, and handles that decorated her bedroom set.

Maki sat up with a yawn and stretched. She felt much better that morning. All she really needed was some rest. She was still slightly tired, but it was nothing a little break from working at Kaiba Corp. could not fix.

'_I can't wait to see him again... to thank him.' _she thought to herself as a certain young CEO popped into her head.

She pushed the covers off herself and paddled her way into the bathroom to make herself ready for the day, even if she was just going to rest throughout most of it. She then traveled downstairs to the kitchen to make herself some late breakfast. It was only a few hours before noon and her mother was notorious for wandering around the town between breakfast and lunch. Maki was just about to wander into the kitchen when she heard the clacking of computer keys in the living room.

'_What's that? It can't be mom, I'm sure she's out exploring the city like she always used to do and dad should be at work by now.'_ Maki thought as she walked back into the living room.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Maki asked as she recognized the familiar figure of her father sitting at his desk in the corner of the living room. Mr. Kaichi had his own private study back in their old home in Omihachiman City, but this house did not have enough rooms. Fortunately, the living room was quite large and so Morosou Kaichi made a small study out of the corner of the living room. He really did not need that much space anyway, so it worked out perfectly. He just needed his computer and a filing cabinet.

"Oh, good morning Maki. Feeling better?" her father asked as he turned away from his computer.

"Much better, thanks dad, but why are you here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Well, you were sick and your mother has been itching to take a tour of the city all week so I told my boss that I had a family emergency and he let me stay home as long as I do any work that I can at home."

"Oh, you didn't have to do that dad. I really can take care of myself."

"Of course you can," her father said sarcastically. "Now what was that about remembering your umbrella the next time you go out rushing into the rain?"

Maki sweat dropped. "It was one of my stupid moments, dad."

"Yes, you used to have plenty of those back at our old home. Even though you always passed yourself off as some cold unfeeling duelist who didn't want friends, you were never afraid to show who you _really_ were in front of your mother, me, and the Shukas. It's nice to know that despite whatever it is you've been through, you haven't completely changed. Though I do wish you'd tell us soon," her father said sternly.

"I will dad. I promised I would. I'm just waiting for the right moment. I still need time... to adjust and get my life back on track."

"Well, alright, as long as you don't get sick over it," her father replied, turning back to face the computer.

The ends of Maki's lips curved into a slight smile and she wandered into the kitchen to make her late breakfast.

…

"Seto?" Mokuba asked as he walked into his older brother's office.

"Yes, Mokuba?"

"Those duelist invitations are all set to go. Do you want them delivered now?" the younger Kaiba asked as he peered up at his brother through a smiling face.

"Of course. The announcement is tomorrow night and I don't want a single one of them to be late. I checked the rules that Ma-Kaichi was working on and she's nearly finished - just a bit more to go," Seto replied and mentally hit himself for his little slip of the tongue. She was "Kaichi" to him, not "Maki," despite the feeling that had surfaced in the pit of his stomach the previous night at her house. "I want this tournament to be as successful as Battle City, even without the god cards. That is, unless Yugi decides to use them. It wouldn't surprise me if he manages to get his hands on that fifth Blue Eyes White Dragon. That will just give me another chance to duel him and reclaim my title."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. _'Boy is my brother ever determined to defeat Yugi. I'm hoping Yugi _doesn't_ enter this tournament. Especially not with the special prize Seto is planning for the final match. It's not that I don't believe in my brother... I do, but Yugi is one tough opponent and with the three Egyptian god cards, Seto has a slim chance of winning.' _Mokuba shook his head of the thought and remembered why he originally went into the older Kaiba's office. "Okay. Um... Are you sure you don't want Joey on the list?" Mokuba asked sheepishly. The subject of Yugi-tachi was always a difficult one to discuss with his older brother. ('Tachi' means group, so in this case, Yugi-tachi means Yugi and his group.)

"Wheeler... in my tournament?" Seto scoffed.

Mokuba sighed. "But Seto, Joey made it into the top four in Battle City. You can't deny him another chance to compete just because you don't like him."

"Mokuba, the list has already been finalized and the invitations are ready to go. It's too late to invite Wheeler even if you _could_ change my mind. Besides, how he managed to sneak himself into Battle City is beyond me."

"I could invite him personally," Mokuba suggested.

"No, Mokuba and that's final."

Mokuba shook his head and turned around to leave. "If you say so, big brother."

…

After Maki finished eating breakfast, she walked back into the living room and peered at what her father was doing over his shoulder. The Rose Tournament suddenly came to her mind.

_'Oh that's right. I forgot about that. I haven't thought of a plan yet. I have to figure this out in a way that no one can find out. I wonder if dad can help me...'_

"Hey dad," Maki called.

"Yes Maki?" he asked and turned around to look at his daughter.

"I need a favor... and I think we'll need mom too. See, I have a plan," she began as she sat in the nearby armchair and explained her idea to her father.

…

It was nearing midnight as a woman in a white cloak hid up in a tree near the Kaichi house.

'_I though Bonz said she went to Kaiba Corp. every day. She hasn't left the house all day. Hmm… Looks like I'll have to use my secret weapon,'_ she thought as she took out a transparent card with black trimming out from her pocket.

'_Tomorrow, I will follow her no matter where she goes.'_

…**Flashback…**

"Ishizu!" a commanding voice called out.

"What is it master Rosenkreuz?" Ishizu asked as she turned around.

"Take this; it may help on your quest."

"What is it?"

"It's a new magical card, courtesy of Pegasus."

Pegasus was a powerful sorcerer in England and he was the one who created all of the dueling cards, except for the sixteen red and white rose cards, which had already existed for centuries. However, he also created special cards to use for special purposes.

"What does this one do?" Ishizu asked, glancing at the transparent card with a black trim around it.

"Isn't it obvious? It's a cloaking card. With this card, you can become invisible. This is the spell to use it," he answered as he handed a slip of paper to Ishizu.

"Is that so? You're right; this _will_ help me keep a close watch on her," Ishizu said as she slipped the card and the piece of paper into her pocket. "Couldn't Pegasus have made the card a little easier to see? Sometimes he becomes a little carried away with his creative side."

Rosenkreuz laughed. "Yes, well. Just be sure not to lose it. It was very difficult to make and Pegasus will most likely need an entire week of rest to regain his magic."

Ishizu nodded. "Thank you. I promise I will return with as much information as I can gather."

…**End Flashback…**

'_Tomorrow…'_ Ishizu thought.

…

The next day, Maki woke up refreshed and ready to go back to Kaiba Corp.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Mrs. Kaichi asked as Maki walked into the kitchen.

"I feel great mom. That rest yesterday really did me well," Maki replied with a smile.

"That's nice to hear. So, are you going to Kaiba Corp. today then?" Mr. Kaichi asked and took a sip from his coffee, a pair of glasses perched on his nose as he read the morning newspaper.

"Yes. I have to finish up my work for the tournament. We're going to announce it soon."

"So, when are you putting your plan into motion?" her mother asked. Maki and Mr. Kaichi had informed Mrs. Kaichi of the plan that Maki had in mind when she returned from her little walk around the city the day before.

"As soon as the tournament begins," Maki replied and sat down to eat the scrambled eggs her mother made that morning.

…

"Yugi! A letter came for you in the mail," Solomon Motou called out to his grandson, who was chatting with Yami up in his room.

"Coming, grandpa!" Yugi shouted as he ran down the stairs.

Yugi ran into the living room and came to halt in front of his smiling grandfather.

"Here you go, Yugi. It looks pretty official," Solomon said and handed Yugi an envelope with his name on it.

"What is it, aibou?" Yami asked as he hovered next to Yugi in his spirit form.

Yugi opened up the envelope and read the letter inside. "It seems to be an invitation. It says all duelists are to go to Clock Tower Square tonight at 7:00 PM for a special announcement."

"Do you think it's another tournament?" Yami asked, interest dripping in his voice.

"Who knows? Why don't we find out tonight?" Yugi suggested. Yami nodded.

"Hey, let's see if Joey and Mai got these invitations too! Besides, we still haven't told them about our trip to Egypt. We're leaving tomorrow after all," Yugi said and sprinted to the phone to call the gang over.

…

"Thanks mom!" Maki exclaimed as she climbed out of the car and ran up the stairs leading to the main entrance of Kaiba Corp. She entered the building and smiled as she saw the bustling workers rushing around with stacks of papers or parts of machines.

"Ah! Welcome back Miss Kaichi. I noticed your absence yesterday," the secretary at the main lobby greeted.

"Oh, hello. Yes, I was sick. Is Kaiba in his office?" Maki asked.

"Well, actually, Mokuba asked me to let him know when you'd be back."

"Thank you!" Maki exclaimed as she ran towards the elevator, leaving the blinking secretary in her wake.

Maki did not realize, though, as she stepped into the elevator, that someone was following her. She ignored the strange feeling that snaked its way up her spine as the elevator doors closed.

…

"You're going to Egypt?" Tea asked. Yugi nodded. Tea, Tristan, Joey, Serenity, Mai, Ryou and Duke had gathered around Yugi's living room to hear Yugi's announcement.

"Tomorrow night? Why didn't you tell us before, Yugi?" Tristan asked.

"I guess I was so excited about the trip that I forgot," Yugi replied sheepishly.

"You won't be gone for long, will ya?" Joey asked.

"Just a week; maybe a little less," Yugi answered.

"So you're going to miss the big announcement then?" Mai asked.

"What announcement, Mai?" Serenity inquired.

"What do you mean what announcement? Joey, didn't you get a letter?" Mai asked, turning to face Joey.

"Letter? I didn't get any letter," Joey replied with a raised eyebrow.

"You didn't? I thought all the duelists received them. Perhaps yours was lost in the mail," Yugi suggested.

"You got one too, Yuge?"

Yugi nodded to answer Joey's question.

"What are you guys talking about?" Duke asked.

"Well, apparently, a bunch of duelists received these letters today. All they say is to go to Clock Tower Square for some big announcement," Mai explained.

"Big announcement? Could it be another tournament?" Ryou wondered aloud.

"That's what the Pharaoh and I were thinking," Yugi said.

"When is it?" Serenity asked.

"Tonight at 7," Mai answered.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and find out," Tea said.

…

"According to Roland, all the duelists received their invitations right on time," Mokuba stated.

"Thank you, Mokuba," Seto replied when a knock came at the door.

"Enter," Seto said in a gruff voice. The door opened slightly and a flow of long black hair and a pair of sapphire blue eyes poked into the room.

"Hi Maki!" Mokuba exclaimed, bounding to the door and pulling the girl inside. None of the three occupants in the room realized that someone else had entered the room and watched them from the farthest corner in the office.

"It's nice to see you too Mokuba," Maki replied, smiling at Mokuba's cute and friendly antics.

"How are you feeling, Maki?"

"A lot better, thanks. All I needed was some good rest."

"Okay. Well, I'll leave you two alone," Mokuba said with a suggestive wink, which made Maki blink in confusion, and headed for the door. "I'll see you later, Maki." With that, he left the office and closed the door behind him. Maki stared at the now closed door with a befuddled expression until a husky voice brought her out of her daze.

"What do you want Kaichi? Shouldn't you be in your office, finalizing those rules? I'm announcing the tournament tonight, with or without you."

"Oh, yes of course," Maki said, turning around and looking at the figure before her. Seto was sitting at his desk, diligently working on something on his computer, not looking up at her. She bit her lip as she waited for him to acknowledge her.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Kaichi?" he asked, still refusing to look up at the girl standing a few feet in front of him.

Maki looked at him sadly. She desperately wanted him to thank him for the other night, but she did not want to say anything if he was no looking up at her. Therefore, she did the only thing she could do and walked around to his side of the desk and waited for him to turn around and look up at her.

"Kaichi, what the hell do you want? Stop trying my patience and spit it out!" Seto exclaimed, finally giving up and turning in his seat to regard her. Maki's face lit up as she looked into his eyes. Despite the irritation in his voice, his eyes showed a bit of nervousness which heightened her want to thank him.

"W-well I," Maki began and mentally cursed herself for stuttering. She had been anticipating this moment, so why was it that she could not find the right words to say? The room suddenly felt hotter. Perhaps it had something to do with the fluttering in her stomach. "I-I wanted to say… t-thanks," she stuttered and looked away. Staring at his deep blue orbs was doing a number on her nerves and it certainly was not helping.

"What are you talking about?" he asked and quirked an eyebrow.

Maki's eyes traveled back up to stare at his. She fought the bile that threatened to rise up her throat. "The other night… Thank you for-for taking care of me while I was sick."

Seto's eyes narrowed. He had not wanted her to know about that. The last thing he needed was to have her feel the need to thank him and be uncomfortable doing it. He did not want her thanks. He had only stayed with her because it would not have been right to leave her there alone in her condition.

"…and I'm sorry for thinking you were my mom," Maki added with a small chuckle and a slight blush of embarrassment.

"Is that all?" Seto asked dismissively. Having her there was bothering him and he was not quite sure why. He stood up, about to push her out of the room, but what she did next surprised him to no end.

Maki gave in to the urge she had been having ever since she stepped into his office that afternoon. The fact that he was standing up now, a mere foot away, made it that much easier for her. She took a step forward to close the gap between them, wrapped her arms around his neck, and laid her head on his shoulder.

Seto tensed up at the contact. The memory of the other night surfaced in his mind and he was not enjoying it at all. He remembered what it had been like to have her body pressed up against him, and although he may have tried to dismiss it that time, he could not dismiss it now. It was bothering him to no end. Perhaps it did not feel as awkward the last time because she had been unconscious. Now that she was fully awake and aware of what she was doing, it made him uncomfortable. He desperately fought the urge to wrap his arms around her.

She moved her head closer to his neck and she inhaled his scent. She sighed happily. It was like a dream come true for her and she did not want it to end. She had been waiting for this moment the day before, but it felt nothing like she had imagined. Itwas even more spectacular than she had thought.

Seto tensed even more once her head moved closer to his neck and he could have sworn that she had just sniffed him. Then he realized that he could smell her as well. Her hair smelled like coconut and it did a number on his senses. He glanced down at her and noticed that her eyes were closed and her lips were set into a smile, as if she had been dreaming of this moment for so long and was now making the most of it. He gulped as he felt her body heat merge with his. Her form seemed to meld perfectly with his.

'_What's wrong with me? Why can't I push her away? What the hell is she doing to me?'_ he thought as his hands balled into fists. Maki was making him feel something that he was not used to. It was something he had never felt before and he was sure that was not supposed to feel it.

After what felt like hours, he finally found his voice. "Kaichi, I'd suggest you get your hands off me unless you want me to fire you right here and now. I can handle this tournament by myself," he growled and glared at her.

"OH! I-I'm sorry," she said as she let go and turned around immediately to hide her blushing. "I just… I… Thank you!" she exclaimed and ran out of the room, leaving a confused CEO in her wake.

…

'_That certainly was awkward,'_ thought Ishizu as she ran after Maki. What she has just seen was quite an interesting scene indeed and she stored the memory away should she ever need anything from it later on. She swiftly followed Maki into her office, avoiding the door that almost slammed into her.

Maki sat down at her computer and turned it on. She did not have the slightest idea that Ishizu was watching her every move. The room did feel a little off, but Maki guessed it was because she had not been there the day before.

'_What is this? Tournament rules? Hmm… This gives me an idea…'_ Ishizu contemplated as she looked at the computer screen.

…

A few hours later, Maki once again found herself standing in front of the door leading to Seto Kaiba's office. She hesitated before knocking. The memory of what happened in there the last time caused her cheeks to heat up. Luckily, the door opened before she even touched it and a familiar pair of violet-gray eyes peered up at her.

"Maki! I was just about to go to your office," Mokuba commented and smiled widely at the blue-eyed girl.

"Hello, Mokuba. I just came by to give this to your brother. I'm finished with the rules."

"Okay, well, he's right there," Mokuba said and pointed to pointed to the older Kaiba, who was seated at his desk, typing away.

Maki walked up to the desk nervously and held out the disk she had saved with the tournament rules on it.

"I was wondering when you would finish," Seto said as he took the disk and put it into his disk drive. "You can take a break now. Be back here by six o'clock. The announcement is at seven."

Maki nodded and left the office. She decided to take a walk outside since her office felt slightly out of place that day. She could not put her finger on why it felt that way. She stepped into the elevator and quickly looked around as if to see someone there. She could have sworn that someone was following her and was right there in that elevator with her. Once the elevator doors opened on the lobby floor, she stepped off and made a dash for the nearby coffee shop.

**TBC…**

For those excited duelists out there, the dueling action will begin in the next chapter, so you all have something to look forward to. Special thanks to **wormapple** who volunteered to write the duels for the tournament finals and sent them to me a few days later. I still have not heard from the other three who volunteered. Anyway, the story is only going to become more interesting from here on out, so keep your eyes open for updates! I am also sorry I have not updated the prequel, War Stories. I have not had the chance to play the game, which I need to do to have some info I need for the next chapter. My midterms are coming up the week after this one, so I have to study. As for fans of Life At My House, you will simply have to wait until I finish the New Years chapters - just two more to go. Well, thanks for reading and have a nice day!


	22. Unwanted Phantoms

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… However, I do own Maki Kaichi, Mr. (Morosou) Kaichi, Mrs. (Yakima) Kaichi, Rick Takinawa, and Crystal Takinawa.

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.  
_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

Well, I will now be using my xanga to post up music videos of the songs I pick for these chapters. The song I picked for this chapter is "Because of You" by "Kelly Clarkson." You can see the video on my xanga!

I'm sorry for the very long wait, so I'm making up for it by giving you an 18 page long chapter! Yay! Enjoy!

**Chapter 22 – Unwanted Phantoms…**

"Thank you sir," Maki said as she took her cup of coffee with milk and sugar and paid the man at the coffee shop counter. She sat down at one of the empty booths in the corner of the small shop and slowly drank her coffee. She sighed contentedly as she took in the scent of coffee and sweet pastries that filled the air. She closed her eyes for a minute to revel in the atmosphere of the little shop full of chattering people and the wondrous scents that filled the air.

Maki's eyes snapped open as she felt someone's presence nearby. She looked around but could see no one with two meters of her. A familiar chill ran down her spine and she tensed up immediately.

'_Why do I keep having this feeling? Why am I so tense? Why do I feel like someone is watching me?'_ she thought.

…**Flashback…**

"Yes, you used to have plenty of those back at our old home. Even though you always passed yourself off as some cold unfeeling duelist who didn't want friends, you were never afraid to show who you _really_ were in front of your mother, me, and the Shukas. It's nice to know that despite whatever it is you've been through, you haven't completely changed. Though I do wish you'd tell us soon," her father said sternly.

"I will dad. I promised I would. I'm just waiting for the right moment. I still need time... to adjust and get my life back on track."

…**End Flashback…**

Maki sighed. _'Perhaps I'm just being paranoid. I… I need to be stronger… for my parents… for myself. I need to get on with my life…' _She still had that awkward feeling in her stomach though, so she finished her coffee and left the shop. She looked around to make sure no one was following her and made her way to the park.

* * *

"What is it Mokuba?" Seto asked when the younger Kaiba brother walked into the room with a big grin on his face as if he had just won first place for some competition.

"Remember how you told me that I could come up with the idea for how to get everyone's attention during the announcement tonight?" Mokuba asked as he anxiously rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

Seto raised an eyebrow and hesitantly nodded in response.

"Well," Mokuba began as his eyes danced with glee, "I was thinking since it's called 'The Rose Tournament,' we could open up with…"

* * *

Maki had merely walked three and half blocks when something grabbed her arm, covered her mouth to keep her from screaming for help, and pulled her into a damp dark alleyway. She struggled against her captor and her eyes widened tenfold once she saw that her captor was none other than a Rose Crusader. He smirked and let go of her mouth with a look that warned her not to scream for help.

"K-Keith… Wh-what are you d-doing here?" Maki asked, her voice quivering in fear. She felt another presence near her and looked behind Keith. There was only one man in the Rose Crusaders who was that tall and had that menacing aura about him. Maki gasped in fearful surprise. "Panik!"

"Are you sure about this, Keith? Rosenkreuz will not be happy if he knew you came back to scare the girl," the tall husky man said in a dark reproachful tone.

"Who says I'm just here to scare her? I'm going to take her back so we can stop wasting our time," Keith retorted as he tightened his grip on Maki's arm.

"Let me go!" she cried.

"Keith!" a commanding voice shouted a few feet behind them.

"What did I tell you, Keith? He doesn't sound happy," Panik chided.

"Shut up!" Keith spat.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you Panik. You don't seem like you're trying to stop him in any way," the voice reprimanded.

Maki gasped as she recognized the voice. "R-Rosenkreuz?"

"Let her go, Keith. I want you and Panik back where you belong and I don't want to hear any complaints, understand?"

Keith groaned and let go of Maki's arm. He and Panik each pulled out a card from inside their cloaks, chanted a spell, and disappeared in a flash of light.

"Well, now that that's out of the way…" Rosenkreuz said as he took a step toward Maki.

"Rosenkreuz…" Maki whispered as a mixture of feelings rose inside her – nervousness, regret, sadness, anger, as well as love. It had been a week since she had seen him and she was not sure what to feel at the moment.

"Since I'm here, I might as well make this easier for the both of us. I'm giving you a choice right now, Maki Kaichi. If you come back to my world with me right now, your punishment will be less harsh," he said as he walked dangerously close to her. The two of them stood merely inches apart.

Maki felt as if she were about to collapse due to the weak feeling in her knees. Her breathing sped up as her heart raced in her chest. Despite what he did to her, she still loved him. Despite whatever she might be feeling for Seto Kaiba now, she still loved Rosenkreuz.

"However," he began as he closed the gap between them and whispered in her ear, "if you don't come with me, we'll continue keeping an eye on you and I may even have to use force."

Maki struggled to fight the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him the way she had dreamed of for years. _'Fight it Maki, fight it! He doesn't love you…He's just playing with you… He… I… Why are his eyes so beautiful? Like two endless pools of blue…'_ She was just about to lose the battle within herself and give in to Rosenkreuz when a strange feeling coming from her feet brought her back to reality. She looked down.

A familiar light began to envelop the two of them. She had seen this before, felt this before. It was as if her body was leaving this world. Maki's eyes widened. She was so lost in Rosenkreuz's eyes that she had not realized he was chanting a spell. She immediately pushed him away and stumbled backward.

"You jerk! I'm not going anywhere with you, so just leave me alone! Tell your flunkies to stop chasing me! Just-just go away and let me move on with my life!" she screamed and backed away from him as quickly as she could. She could not see where she was going and backed into someone.

"Excuse me!" the person exclaimed none too politely. "Maki?"

Maki looked up, her eyes still full of anger and fear.

"Oh great. Now she's poppin out of random alleyways? Why have we been cursed? It's bad enough I didn't get an invite for this announcement thing, but now we gotta run into Miss I'm-better-than-everybody?" Joey complained.

Maki barely noticed as she continued to breathe heavily and frantically turned back to face the alleyway. She gasped as she realized Rosenkreuz was no longer there. She desperately looked around her to see if perhaps he was still watching her, but to her dismay she could see nothing but a gaping group of friends.

"What the hell do you want?" she yelled at them, trying to sound more angry than scared at the time, but failing miserably.

"Um, are you okay?" Duke asked as he recognized that same look of fear he had seen in her eyes the last time he had run into her.

"Who cares if she's okay? She's always insultin us like she was da queen of the world or somethin!" Joey exclaimed with a frown on his face. He did not mind publicly expressing his dislike for the girl, even when it was apparent that she was not in a proper state of mind.

Maki still felt a presence stalking her, watching her every move, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. She felt she was going to explode in anxiety.

"Stop following me! Stop watching me! Just leave me alone, damn it! Let me move on with my life! Nothing you say or do will make me go back! Do you hear me Rosenkreuz? I refuse to let your memory run my life!" Maki screamed to the heavens as she clenched her fists tightly and looked to the sky.

The members of Yugi-tachi gave each other questioning looks and stared at Maki as if she had just grown two heads. _'Just who is she talking to?'_ they all wondered.

Maki screamed in frustration and ran past the group of friends, towards the park, nearly knocking Joey over while doing so.

"Hey! Come back here! You don't just shove people and run off like dey don't matta!" Joey yelled and was about to run after her when Duke grabbed his arm. "What? I was just about ta give her a piece of my mind!"

"Didn't you see the look in her eyes? She wasn't ignoring us. She was too afraid to notice we were even here," Duke stated matter-of-factly.

"How can you be so sure, Duke?" Tea asked.

"Who's Rosenkreuz?" Yugi asked.

"What?" Everyone turned to look at the short boy.

"She called out someone's name. I'm pretty sure I heard 'Rosenkreuz'," Yugi pointed out.

"How should we know? Maybe she's just losin her marbles," Joey retorted.

"I agree," Tristan added with a nod of his head.

"Well, she _did_ burst out randomly and no one was here but us," Mai commented.

"What if the person left before we could see him?" Serenity thought out loud.

"Or perhaps the person was invisible…" Ryou trailed off.

"What do you mean, Ryou?" Tea asked. Everyone turned to regard the white-haired boy with perplexed looks plastered over their faces, but was surprised to find him no longer there.

"Ryou? Ryou!" Yugi called out.

"Where could he have gone?" Serenity wondered.

'_Probably to find some answers,'_ Duke thought.

* * *

Maki nearly fell over as she plumped down into one of the swings in Domino Park. Her breathing had calmed down by now but she was still quite tense. Any slight movement and she would immediately jerk her head in that direction. Once again she felt the same presence watching her and she shivered.

"Please leave me alone," she said barely above a whisper as her head hung low.

"And exactly who is it that you want to leave you alone?" a voice said as its owner walked up to Maki, stopping about one meter away.

Maki looked up and clenched her fists, ready to fight should it be a Rose Crusader. She blinked in confusion as she looked up into a pair of chocolate brown eyes. She unclenched her fists and took a deep breath to calm her down.

"Ryou, is it? What do you want? I thought I made it perfectly clear to you and your friends that I'm not interested in joining your little group, so whatever it is you want from me, make it quick," she spat, despite the feeling of fear that still remained in the pit of her stomach.

"Oh, you _did_ make yourself perfectly clear, I can assure you that. I will make this as fast as possible, and lastly, I'm not exactly Ryou," the boy replied with a smirk and crossed his arms. His eyes seemed darker, his hair looked different and somewhat diabolical, and his voice was deeper and cryptic.

"B-Bakura?" Maki asked as she recognized the familiar look in his eyes. _'But it can't be him, could it? Not Bakura of the Lancastrians…'_

"I don't remember ever giving you my name and ever since we first met, I've been wondering how it was that you knew all of our names. After what just happened back there, I don't particularly care anymore. My new question is who is following you? He certainly has quite a lot of power; I felt it emanating from that alleyway and then it simply disappeared. He's not the only one. There were three others. Two of them left before he did and the third one is still around," he said as his eyes darted past Maki and back as if someone was standing there, watching them.

"That's none of your business. While we're at it, I have a question of my own. Who are you? You're not the same Ryou I met. You're different," Maki said.

"I'll answer the same way you answered my question. That's none of your business," Bakura replied with a smug smirk.

Maki glared at him. _'I don't care if Bakura _did_ help me escape in Rosenkreuz's world…It doesn't mean I have to be nice to the Bakura in my own world…'_ "You're wasting my time. If I were you, I'd keep out of other people's business." She stood up and began to walk away.

"Is that a threat?" Bakura asked as he grabbed Maki's arm, stopping her from leaving. "I'll let you know I don't take threats, I make them. However, you have enough to deal with now, so I'll let you go." He smirked, let go of her arm, and walked away.

Maki glared at him and decided to head back to Kaiba Corp.

_'Who was that?' _Ishizu thought as she followed Maki back to Kaiba Corp._ 'How did he know about Rosenkreuz? How did he know about the rest of us? He said he could "feel" Rosenkreuz's power. Could it be the rose cards? More importantly, could he see me as well? He just looked up at me as if he could. Could this ruin our plan in any way?'_ Ishizu thought.

* * *

"That's the last of it, Mr. Kaiba," Roland said as he hauled in a very large sack and set it down next to three others of the same size and shape.

"Thank you Roland," Seto replied and waved him away. "Why did you make me buy four large sacs full of rose petals, Mokuba?"

Mokuba chuckled in a way that almost said, "What else would they be for, stupid?" Seto crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow as he waited for Mokuba's response.

"It's called 'The Rose Tournament,' right? So wouldn't it make sense to open it up with a shower of rose petals? Besides, I'm sure Maki will love them," Mokuba replied and slightly emphasized the word 'love.'

"What are you implying, Mokuba?"

"Who says I'm implying anything? Maki's co-hosting this thing, right? I'm sure she would agree with me on the idea of raining rose petals to open up the announcement," Mokuba explained. _'Hopefully, Seto won't tell her that it was my idea… Then she'll think it was his idea… It's time big brother got himself a-'_

A knock at the door brought Mokuba out of his reverie. The two brothers looked up at the door. Mokuba walked up to the door and opened it.

"Oh hi, Maki! You don't really have to knock every- Are you okay, Maki? You look a little shook up," Mokuba pointed out as his look of excitement turned into one of worry.

Maki nodded. "I'm fine Mokuba. I just-I'm fine. I know I'm a little early but-"

"You're an hour early," Seto stated. He had not moved from his spot by the sacks of rose petals.

"Um, right. I-I'm sorry," Maki mumbled, her eyes staring at a spot on the floor by her feet.

"Maki, are you sure you're okay? You look a little pale," Mokuba said as his worry for the girl grew.

"I said I'm fine Mokuba. Don't worry about-" Maki began to say but stopped at mid-sentence and quickly looked around as if someone was stalking her. The two Kaiba brothers noticed this and exchanged a glance.

"Maki, why don't you come in?" Mokuba suggested.

"What? Oh, right," Maki said and walked in, closing the door behind her.

"Since you're here early, Kaichi, we might as well get started with our preparations for tonight. We'll be starting off with a slight twist," Seto began as he gestured to the four large sacks by his feet.

Maki nodded and walked toward him to do whatever it was she needed to do to prepare. Mokuba followed behind her.

* * *

"Are you ready, Maki?" Mokuba asked.

Maki nodded and took a deep breath as she climbed into the helicopter. Seto was already seated inside another helicopter not too far away.

"Good luck!" Mokuba called out as the door closed, keeping Maki safe inside. No one knew that someone else was sitting beside her.

The two helicopters took off, leaving a waving Mokuba on the roof of Kaiba Corp.

* * *

"So who do you think called us out here?" Yami wondered aloud as he looked around at the large crowd of duelists gathered around Clock Tower Square.

"I don't know, but it looks like Battle City all over again," Mai commented as she recognized the overly confident looks on the faces of Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor.

"So you're sayin Moneybags planned this?" Joey asked.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Mai replied.

"Hey what's that?" Ryou asked as two helicopters flew in and hovered over the plaza.

The doors on both helicopters opened up and two large sacs from each were torn open, their contents spilling out like a shower. The wind that the two helicopters created blew them all around the square.

"Wow! How beautiful!" Serenity exclaimed as she caught a rose petal in her hand.

"Rose petals?" Duke asked and looked up in the direction of the helicopters, but could not make out anything due to the shower of rose petals.

"Are you so sure Kaiba planned this, Mai? Rose petals aren't something I'd expect from him," Tristan commented.

"Well speak of the devil," Tea muttered as all the TV screens in the plaza lit up, showing Seto's face on every single one.

"Welcome duelists. I've called you all out here tonight to announce a new competition – The Rose Tournament!" he exclaimed loudly as he emerged from the inside of the helicopter and stood on the landing strut.

"The Rose Tournament?" Yugi asked. He was not the only one who was curious about the theme of the tournament, which was uncharacteristic for someone like Seto.

"What's going on?" a nearby duelist asked.

"This isn't Kaiba's style," another duelist stated.

"Who's in the other helicopter?" another wondered.

"That's a good question," Mai said, overhearing the duelists around her.

"Now before I continue, I'd like to introduce to you and give credit to the person who worked on this tournament with me, Miss Maki Kaichi!" he declared and motioned towards the other helicopter.

The TV screens split in half, now showing not only Seto's face but Maki's as well. She stepped out from the other helicopter and stood on the landing strut. The shower of rose petals began to die down, allowing everyone a better view of the black haired girl. The duelists started chatting amongst themselves again, curious about the new unfamiliar girl.

"Who is that?"

"Is she a duelist?"

"I've never seen her before."

"Do you think Kaiba got himself a girlfriend?"

Joey laughed. "Yeah, dat's a funny one. Kaiba would never bother with something like that. He's a human popsicle!"

Tea rolled her eyes at Joey's comment. "He's not heartless, Joey. He's just overly stubborn and arrogant, among quite a few other boorish qualities."

"It wouldn't surprise me if he and Maki do have something going on. They both seem to think everyone around them is inferior," Mai refuted.

'_Is that really her? Well, well, well, long time no see Maki Kaichi. This will certainly prove to be a very interesting tournament indeed…' _thought a young man with emerald eyes, dirty-blonde hair, and slightly tanned skin.

"Good evening duelists! My name is Maki Kaichi and I will be co-hosting this tournament along with Seto Kaiba."

"You may all think this tournament will be the same as Battle City, but you're wrong. We've made some changes to the rules. You will use the same duel disks but you will be dueling for these," Seto explained as he held up two cards - a white card with a white rose on it and a red card with a red rose on it.

"In order to enter the finals, a duelist must have ten of these cards. Five of them must be red and five of them must be white. For example, once you have five red rose cards, you should only battle duelists who have at least one white rose card. Once you have all ten, you can insert them into your duel disk and you will be given the location of the finals," Maki continued.

"Similar to Battle City, you will wager your rarest cards, however there is a much more worthwhile prize to consider. I will not be competing in this tournament, but the winner of the Rose Tournament will not only receive the title of "Rose Duelist" and three thousand dollars, but will also have the chance to duel me in a special exhibition match. If you can manage to defeat me in this duel, you will receive these as your prize," Seto announced as he held up two very well-known cards, causing all the duelists below to gasp in shock. Almost all the duelists began to talk to each other.

"Is he serious?"

"Three thousand dollars as well as the chance to win two Blue Eyes White Dragons? That has to be one of the greatest prizes in duel tournament history!"

"How could he risk losing two of his rarest cards?"

"Is Kaiba crazy or somethin?" Joey wondered aloud as he scrunched his face in confusion.

"Joey has a point. Kaiba loves his Blue Eyes White Dragons. Why would he gamble them as if they were any ordinary cards?" Tea asked.

"More importantly, why is he only wagering two of them and not just one or all three? Wouldn't it make more sense if the winner received all three or just one?" Ryou added.

"What do you mean buddy?" Tristan asked.

"Well, think about it Tristan. If a duelist has one Blue Eyes White Dragon, he'll have an amazing power in his deck. If the duelist has all three, like Kaiba does, he can then fuse them to create the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon," Ryou explained.

"Oh, I get it," Yugi interrupted. "So you're saying that it would be pointless to have two Blue Eyes White Dragons if you don't have the third to fuse them. If you only had one, you wouldn't worry so much about it."

Ryou nodded.

"Well that does make sense," Duke said.

Maki's eyes widened at Seto's announcement. She had not known that was his plan. _'Why is he...? Wait... I think I understand why he's doing this. He wants to lure out the duelist with the fifth Blue Eyes White Dragon. It's not a bad idea, but is he actually willing to go through with this? Well, he already announced that he would, so I guess he is...'_

"You all have five days to register and pick up your rose cards. You will each receive one card, either red or white. Remember that you need exactly five red and five white to know where the finals will be held," Seto continued.

"We'd like to extend a very special invitation to an unknown duelist out there. As you all know, there are four Blue Eyes White Dragons in the world, three of which are owned by Seto Kaiba here. The fourth was destroyed some time ago. However, this duelist holds the fifth Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Maki announced.

"What?"

"A fifth Blue Eyes?"

"Is that even possible?"

"Oh, now I understand why Kaiba's only wagering two of his dragons instead of all three," Tea said.

"We know you're out there duelist and I know you can't resist a prize such as this," Seto said as he held up his Blue Eyes White Dragons.

"Thank you duelists and we'll see you in five days!" Maki exclaimed as she and Seto reentered their helicopters.

* * *

Maki sighed as she sat down.

'_A fifth Blue Eyes? Just what are you planning, Maki? I'll have to tell Rosenkreuz about this. He'll know what to do with this lovely new information…'_ Ishizu thought as she watched Maki sitting beside her.

Maki's cell phone rang and she fumbled to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Good job, Kaichi. I was afraid you'd get nervous and blow it."

"Thanks Kaiba. Are you really going to give the winner your Blue Eyes White Dragons?"

"I believe that only a strong duelist should possess the power harnessed by a Blue Eyes White Dragon. Besides, what makes you think I'm going to lose?"

"Good point. So do you think that mystery duelist will make it to the top?"

"Not if Yugi Motou competes."

'…_Yugi? Oh no! I forgot that he's the King of Games in this world… That could really ruin my plans. I'll have to figure something out…'_ Maki thought.

"Kaichi?"

"Oh, yes, I'm here."

"We're reaching Kaiba Corp now, so I'll talk to you there," Seto said and hung up.

* * *

"Hey Maki! You did a great job over there!" Mokuba exclaimed as Maki climbed out of the helicopter.

"Thanks Mokuba," Maki replied with a smile.

"So is there really a duelist out there with another Blue Eyes White Dragon?"

"Yes there is Mokuba," she replied with a slight smirk.

* * *

"Mokuba, you're going to be the tournament commissioner like the last time. Maki, you're going to compete in the tournament, right?" Seto asked. Maki nodded.

"Good. Take this," he said as he handed her a card and a slip of paper, "that key card gives you access to some parts of the building for authorized tournament personnel only. Mokuba will show you where you can get your duel disk and you can register from any computer with that pass code I just gave you. You can go home once you're done."

Maki nodded. "Thanks."

She and Mokuba stepped out of the office and went to obtain a duel disk for her.

* * *

"Well, here we go Maki - one brand new duel disk. You get it for free since you're working here," Mokuba said as he handed Maki a large box.

"Thank you, Mokuba," Maki replied with a smile. _'…In order for my plan to work, I'll need… I might need someone else to help me… I wonder if Mokuba could… I promised myself I wouldn't make any friends but… Mokuba's different… He's like the brother I never had…'_

"Are you okay, Maki?" Mokuba asked as he looked up at the older girl who was lost in thought.

"Yes, I'm fine. Mokuba, could I ask you for a really big favor?"

"What kind of favor Maki?"

"Well, it has to do with this tournament, with the mystery duelist, and with your brother…" Maki trailed off.

"What about them?"

"Well… This is my plan," she said and explained to Mokuba the idea she had in mind. He paid close attention and once she was done, he agreed to help her without a second thought.

"Sure, I'd be glad to pull a few strings here and there and I can do it without letting Seto find out," Mokuba said with a wink.

"Thank you so much Mokuba," Maki said with a bright grin – one of the few she had since her return from the other world.

'_So _that's_ your plan Miss Kaichi… I don't exactly know what you hope to accomplish with this, but it does not change the fact that Rosenkreuz still wants something done about you…' _Ishizu thought as she left the room.

* * *

"Really now? Thank you, Ishizu, you've done a wonderful job," the dark voice of Seto Rosenkreuz spoke. "Well, this certainly proves to be an interesting turn of events. Although we don't know her true intentions, we can still use this to our advantage. Keith!"

"Yes master Rosenkreuz?"

"You've been a thorn in my side lately, so I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself. You will enter that tournament and when you have the chance, you will use this on her," Rosenkreuz said as he handed Keith a blank silver card.

"What's this?" Keith asked as he turned the card over, looking at it from every angle.

"It's a sleeping card," Pegasus interrupted. "Simply say the word 'dormez' and the first person you hit with it will instantly fall unconscious for an hour or two. I also added another little detail - the card will also release a gas that will cause a distraction so you can grab the girl and escape."

"You can count on me, sir," Keith said.

"Let's hope I can, Keith. You can rest now Ishizu. Now that we know exactly what she's up to, we don't have to follow her everywhere anymore. Pegasus, you go with Keith to make sure he doesn't ruin our plans."

Pegasus nodded. "Yes, Rosenkreuz."

* * *

Maki had a restless sleep that night as memories of her encounter with Rosenkreuz that afternoon came to haunt her. She clutched her star plushie tightly as she slept, hoping to forget the events of earlier that day.

The next morning she woke up to the bright rays of the sun streaming through her bedroom window. She made herself ready for the day and wandered downstairs into the kitchen to eat breakfast.

"Good morning, mom," she greeted Mrs. Kaichi as she sat down at the small black and white marble kitchen table.

"Konnichiwa Maki," her mother greeted in return and placed a plate of scrambled eggs and toast on in front of Maki, who thanked her mother as she began to eat.

"Do you have to go to Kaiba Corp. today dear?" Mrs. Kaichi asked. Maki replied with a nod of her head.

"I was thinking we could have a mother and daughter outing and have the chance to talk perhaps. I feel like I don't know you anymore, Maki. It's been three years and I can't just guess what happened to you all that time. Can't you at least tell me who took care of you or if anything bad happened to you?"

Maki shook her head and put her fork down as she stared at her plate, suddenly losing her appetite.

"Maki, I'm worried about you. You're a complete mystery to me now. Who are you? You keep having nightmares lately and you always seem to be on guard as if someone is after you."

"I can't tell you, mom."

"Why not?"

"It's too complicated."

"I'm sick of that excuse!" Mrs. Kaichi exclaimed, her face contorting into a frown.

"It's not an excuse, it's the truth," Maki replied, biting her lip to keep from raising her voice at her mother.

"I am your mother! I have the right to know about what's going on in your life!" her mother exclaimed sternly, her voice slightly rising in volume.

"You wouldn't understand!" Maki exclaimed.

"What exactly is it that I would not understand, Maki? What happened to the cheery little girl who could tell me everything?" Mrs. Kaichi shouted desperately.

"She was slashed, stabbed, and shot! She saw things no normal modern day fourteen year old should see! She fought battles that weren't hers to fight! The worst thing of all is that she fell in love with someone who fooled her into thinking he cared when he was just using her for his own selfish gains! That's what happened to her!" Maki shouted back and stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

"Excuse me? Where do you think you're going young lady?" Mrs. Kaichi called out and followed Maki.

"I'm going to Kaiba Corp. The duelist registrations begin today and I'm helping Kaiba monitor who registers and who doesn't," Maki explained as she headed for the door.

"What if I say you can't?"

"Mom, you know I have to do this in order for my plan to work."

"And what exactly is the point of this plan, Maki?"

"I…" Maki began but stopped and sighed, her hand on the doorknob. "You wouldn't understand," she finished, opened the door, walked out of the house and closed the door behind her.

* * *

After spending a few hours at Kaiba Corp, Maki stepped out to have lunch.

"Thanks Seto! Maki, wait up!" Mokuba called out after her as he sprinted out of Seto's office.

"Hmm?" Maki asked and turned around to regard the younger Kaiba as he ran up to her.

"Can I join you for lunch, Maki? Seto said it was okay," Mokuba requested with a big smile.

"Sure," Maki replied as Mokuba's smile grew wider at her response. The two left the building and looked for a good place to eat.

* * *

"Hey! You can't just kick people out of da store like dat!" a familiar Brooklyn accent cut through the air of Domino plaza.

"I can when the person is disrupting the tranquility of my store," a young salesgirl stated as she pushed a loud and angry Joey out of the duel shop.

"I told you this would happen, Joey," Tea commented as she shook her head at her friend shamefully.

"I'm telling you dis is all Kaiba's fault! He probably made sure I wouldn't enter dis tournament of his. I can't stand dat jerk!" Joey exclaimed as he clenched his hands into tight fists.

"Hey, Yugi, since you're not competing in this tournament, why don't you ask Kaiba if Joey can take your place?" Tristan suggested.

"You're not entering the tournament, Yugi?" a young voice asked from behind the group of friends. They all turned around to see a smiling Mokuba Kaiba and a straight-faced Maki Kaichi.

"Oh, hello Mokuba, no, I can't duel this time. I'm going to Egypt with my grandpa," Yugi replied. Mokuba and Maki glanced at each other for a second, each bearing identical smirks on their faces.

"Say, Mokuba, we're pals, right?" Joey asked with a mile-wide grin plastered over his face.

Mai rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to him kid."

"Mai! Come on, you know Mokuba's da only one who can persuade his ice cube of a brother to change his mind!" Joey exclaimed.

Mokuba crossed his arms and cleared his throat. "Joey, I'm right here, you know," he said with a frown.

"What's your point?" Joey asked with confusion written all over his face.

Tea rolled her eyes. "You just insulted his brother."

"Well the guy's a jerk, Tea! Just because he don't like me doesn't mean he can't let me compete in his stupid tournament!"

It was now Maki's turn to cross her arms and clear her throat. Her face contorted into a frown and since she was standing next to Mokuba, their expressions looked like mirror images of each other. "May I remind you that it's _my_ stupid tournament too? Besides, if it's so stupid, then why do you want to enter it anyway?"

"No one asked you, Maki!" Joey spat.

"May I remind you that since I am the co-creator of this tournament, I myself have a say as to who can and can't duel?" Maki asked suggestively.

"Smooth move, Joey," Tristan said with a laugh.

"Shut up Tris!" Joey hissed. "Come on Mokuba, can't you help me here?"

"I don't know Joey. You insulted my brother, Maki, and the tournament. Besides, Maki and Seto are really the ones who can decide whether to let you in or not, Joey," Mokuba stated matter-of-factly. Maki smirked.

"Maki, can't you please be nice for once and let Joey enter the tournament?" Tea asked politely.

"Oh, please let my brother enter the tournament! He really is a good duelist," Serenity pleaded.

"How can you resist such a sweet face like this?" Duke asked as he stood at Serenity's side. Tristan stood on her other side.

Maki gave the three of them a funny look and turned to Joey. "Apologize."

"What?" Joey asked.

"Apologize and I'll consider letting you enter."

"Consider it? Why can't you just let him enter?" Tea asked.

"Keep out of this. My business is with Joey," Maki replied, her voice dripping with dislike.

"You're just like Kaiba. All you care about is yourself. Your heart is just one big block of ice," Joey snarled.

Maki's eyes widened for a second in shock. She then recovered and glared daggers at him. "I can see you couldn't care less about this tournament. Let's go Mokuba, your brother is probably waiting for us," she said as she turned around and began to walk away. Mokuba frowned at Joey and followed Maki.

"Yeah, good riddance!" Joey shouted.

"Joey! I thought you wanted to enter the tournament!" Mai exclaimed.

"Yeah, I do."

"Well, you just lost your only chance at getting in, man!" Tristan yelled loudly as if Joey could not hear him or was too dumb to understand.

"Tristan has a point, Joey. There's no way she'll let you in now after the way you just insulted her like that. There's not much hope of convincing Kaiba either since you insulted him too. Not to mention you did it right in front of Mokuba," Tea pointed out.

"You should apologize to her Joey," Serenity suggested.

"What? Don't tell me you're on her side too, Serenity!" Joey cried.

Serenity shook her head. "Of course not, Joey, but it's the only way you can enter the tournament."

"What do you think, Yuge?" Joey asked and turned to look at his best friend but Yugi was not there. "Yuge?"

* * *

'_Damn bastard… How dare he insult me like that? If he thinks he can enter this tournament, then he has another thing coming.'_ Maki thought as she walked towards Kaiba Corp. with Mokuba following right beside her.

"Are you okay Maki?" Mokuba asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Maki replied with an expressionless face.

"Maki!" a voice shouted from behind them, its owner running towards them. Maki stopped and turned to see Yugi Motou come to a stop in front of her.

"What do you want?" Maki asked with a frown. She was sick of having to talk to any member of Yugi's circle of friends.

"Maki, I'm sure Joey didn't mean what he said. He's just really upset over Kaiba's not letting him into the tournament. Please let him enter, Maki. He really is a good duelist and doesn't deserve to be treated this way. I still don't understand what it is you have against us, but don't let that influence your choice," Yugi pleaded with a hopeful smile.

"What do you say, Mokuba?" Maki asked and looked down at the raven haired boy who looked up and nodded with an encouraging smile. Maki sighed exasperatedly and headed back towards the plaza.

"Thank you!" Yugi exclaimed and followed her along with Mokuba.

* * *

"Hey, they're back!" Serenity exclaimed as she spotted Maki walking towards them with Yugi and Mokuba close behind.

"I wonder how Yugi managed to convince her," Duke said as Maki gestured to them to follow her into the duel shop.

"What do you mean I already entered?" someone asked the girl at the counter as Maki and the group of friends walked into the shop.

* * *

"I'm sorry sir, but it appears that you have already been registered into the tournament. Your name is Bandit Keith, am I correct?" the girl at the counter asked. Bandit Keith nodded.

"Well according to this, you registered about two hours ago and you received a rose card as well as a brand new duel disk," the girl stated.

"But I've never been here before!" Bandit Keith exclaimed.

"I didn't say you registered in this shop. You could have registered somewhere else."

"I didn't register _anywhere_!" Bandit Keith shouted.

Maki watched the scene with a stunned expression on her face. _'This is Bandit Keith, right? He claims he hasn't registered, but the Kaiba Corp database says he has... How is that possible?'_

"There's nothing I can do for you sir. It clearly says right here that you have already registered," the salesgirl repeated in an annoyed tone.

"We'll see about that! I'm going to another duel shop then!" Bandit Keith exclaimed angrily and stormed out of the shop, pushing past the group of friends.

"Well that was interesting," Tristan commented.

Maki shook her head to rid herself of what just happened. She walked up to the counter and asked the salesgirl to use the computer.

"Of course Miss Kaichi."

Maki accessed the Kaiba Corp Rose Tournament database and began typing away. She stopped a few minutes later and whispered something to the salesgirl, who nodded and went to the back of the store. She soon came back out, holding a red rose card, and handed it to Maki.

"Thank you," Maki said and walked back up to the group of friends. _'The only reason I'm doing this because I owe Joey in the other world. He, along with Bakura, helped me out when I needed it the most. They helped me escape and I owe them for that... but I'll never see them again, so I'll just have to think of this as my way of paying Joey back...'_

"Here," Maki said as she held up the card in front of Joey. "You're all set and registered. Don't thank me, or insult me, or even say a single word to me. Just take the card."

Joey took the card with a baffled look on his face. The others bore nearly identical looks of confusion as Maki walked out of the shop with Mokuba close behind.

* * *

"Bye Yugi!"

"Bye Mr. Motou!"

"Have fun!"

"Bring back souvenirs!

"Bye gramps! Bye Yuge! Come back soon so you can watch me kick butt in da finals!" Joey exclaimed as Yugi and Solomon Motou headed for the gate.

"We'll try, Joey," Yugi said with a smile.

"You kids have fun with your tournament. Free pizza party to the one who wins the title of 'Rose Duelist!'" Mr. Motou said.

"Alright! Go Mai!" Tristan cheered.

"Mai? What about me? You don't think _I_ could win the tournament?" Joey asked.

"With your skills? No," Tristan joked.

"Hey!"

Duke laughed. "You're just lucky Kaiba isn't competing. Yugi's the only one who can beat him."

"Who says I can't beat Kaiba?" Joey asked with a frown.

"Yeah! You can beat him big brother!" Serenity cheered. Everyone sweat dropped at her comment.

"Of course you can, Joey. He just got lucky the last twenty-seven times you've dueled him," Mai replied sarcastically.

"Mai!" Joey exclaimed angrily. Everyone laughed.

"We'll miss you two. Have a safe trip," Tea said as she hugged the violet-eyed boy tightly.

"We will Tea," Yugi replied as he hugged her back and then gave everyone else a round of hugs. The group of friends waved goodbye at him as he walked off with his grandfather to board the plane.

* * *

The next five days passed by smoothly. The duelists registered for the tournament and everything was all set to go. Maki was not as frantic as she was the week before. She had not seen any sign of the Rose Crusaders for those five days and was relieved.

The argument between Maki and her mother was not brought up during the five day span. However, the two kept very little communication between them, much to Mrs. Kaichi's sorrow.

**...Flashback...**

"She was slashed, stabbed, and shot! She saw things no normal modern day fourteen year old should see! She fought battles that weren't hers to fight! The worst thing of all is that she fell in love with someone who fooled her into thinking he cared when he was just using her for his own selfish gains! That's what happened to her!" Maki shouted back and stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

**...End Flashback...**

_'I don't understand... What did she mean by that? Oh Maki... I know nothing can be the same as it was before, but... I wish you could at least talk to me... I want you to tell me what happened. Explain to me what you meant by what you shouted at me that day...' _Yakima Kaichi thought with a sigh. The book in her hand lay forgotten.

"Mom?"

Mrs. Kaichi looked up to see Maki standing right in front of her.

"I'm just letting you know that the tournament starts today. Dad's busy today, so we'll start the plan tomorrow," Maki said. Mrs. Kaichi nodded and focused back on her book. Maki looked down at the floor and sighed. She regretted yelling at her mother the other day. "I'm going to Kaiba Corp. now. I'll see you later," Maki said as she left the house. Mrs. Kaichi stared at the door with a sad look.

* * *

"It's too bad Yugi couldn't enter dis tournament," Joey said as he and his friends wandered around Domino, waiting for Seto to announce the start of the tournament.

A shadow suddenly loomed over the city. Everyone looked up and saw a large blimp with huge video screens attached underneath. Seto's face appeared on them and he began his opening speech.

"Welcome duelists to the start of the Rose Tournament! As you did in Battle City, you will use the same Duel Disks which will allow you to duel anywhere at any time thanks to the Kaiba Corp. satellite system. In other words, the whole city is the stage of the tournament! The Duel Disks contain tracking chips so anyone interested can watch these duels online. The loser of each duel must give his rarest card to the winner as well as a rose card. The winner decides whether to receive a white or a red rose card. The first eight duelists who have all ten rose cards will enter the finals, which will be held in a surprise location. Also, all duelists now start out with 8000 life points each! Now Maki, do you have any words to say to our duelists before we officially start the tournament?"

Maki's face appeared on the screens as she stood alongside Seto. "All I have to say is that I'll be competing in this tournament as well, so anyone can go ahead and challenge me if they'd like."

_'Oh, I will little Maki... I most certainly will,'_ an emerald-eyed duelist thought with a smirk.

"Good luck duelists," Maki said.

"Let the Rose Tournament begin!" Seto and Maki finished together as the screen flicked off.

_'It's the beginning of the end for you, Maki Kaichi.' _thought a man hiding underneath a white cloak bearing the Rose Crusader badge.

* * *

Less than an hour later, the dueling started in various parts of the city.

"Look Seto! More duels are coming in. If the mystery duelist plays a Blue Eyes White Dragon, we'll be able to track her," Mokuba pointed out as three more duels appeared on screen at Kaiba Corp.

Maki turned to leave.

"You're leaving?" Seto asked as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"I'm in this tournament too, you know. I'll see you later," Maki said with a wave and walked away.

* * *

"Keith, if we're going to make this work, shouldn't you at least disguise yourself?" Pegasus suggested.

"How exactly do you suggest I do that?" Keith retorted.

"Stupid Kaiba Corp. database. Someone should tell that rich brat that his computers aren't working properly," a man with a familiar voice grumbled as he walked by the alleyway the two Rose Crusaders where hiding in. Pegasus and Keith gave each other a look and smirked.

Bandit Keith felt himself being pulled into the alleyway he had just passed. He struggled against his captors, but to no avail.

* * *

"One scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip please," Maki said to the girl at the counter of the ice cream parlor she had seen over a week ago.

"Here you go miss," the girl said as she handed Maki a cone with a scoop of Maki's favorite flavor on top.

"Thank you very much," Maki said as she paid for her ice cream and walked out of the store.

Maki sighed happily and took the first lick of her ice cream. She squealed in delight. _'I haven't eaten this in years! It's absolutely delicious!'_ She thought as she continued to eat her ice cream.

She sat down at a bench that was around the perimeter of the plaza. The brilliant summer sun showered the area with light; there was not a cloud in sight. Families walked around the plaza. Couples strolled along, holding hands. Not too far away, a young boy and a much older one were dueling.

_'This is great... I haven't seen a Rose Crusader in almost a week now and that strange feeling I had that someone was following me is gone. I'm eating my favorite ice cream flavor and the day is simply beautiful. This is such a nice change from the dreary battlefield I was so used to for three years. I can finally live my life that way I should be living it...' _Maki thought as she closed her eyes for a second to revel in the comfort she felt.

The feeling was short lived, however, as something hit her ice cream cone, knocking it over and onto her black denim jacket. Maki squeaked in surprise and looked down to see her favorite jacket being stained by her favorite ice cream.

"Hey! This is my favorite jacket _and _my favorite flavor!" Maki shouted and looked up. Her eyes widened as she saw an all too familiar smirk plastered over a young man's face. "You!"

His smirk widened. He had dazzling emerald green eyes; they were a slightly lighter shade than Duke Devlin's eyes. He had short spiked dirty blonde hair and his skin was a beautiful tanned color.

"Long time no see, Maki. I have to tell you, I really couldn't believe it was you up there on that helicopter announcing that you and the famous Seto Kaiba were hosting the Rose Tournament. Yet here you are, right in front of my face and I must say that for someone who was fat during her childhood, you're looking pretty good right now. If you were a little older, I might have..." the man trailed off suggestively.

Maki gave him her nastiest glare, stood up, and dumped her ice cream cone in the trash bin. A glob of the ice cream remained on her jacket.

"What are you doing here Rick? Why do you have a Duel Disk?" Maki asked as she continued giving him a venom-filled glare.

"I live here now and I'm in this tournament," Rick replied.

"Oh, yes, now I remember. I saw your name on the duelist registration list. I was hoping it was just a dream," Maki hissed.

"I still can't believe it's you. I haven't seen you in three years. Where have you been? I thought you would've been dead by now," Rick said with a laugh.

Maki's glare intensified. "Don't even joke you bastard! I'd like to see you go through one single day of the hell that I was in!"

"Boy, don't take it so seriously! You never were a sociable person back home," a female voice said as its owner walked up to them. She stood next to Rick and had an identical smirk on her face.

"Crystal Takinawa. I see you're here as your brother's little cheerleader. Where's Sujiro? I was so sure you two would've ended up together by the way you kept throwing yourself at him," Maki mocked which earned her a glare from Crystal. "Besides, why would I want to socialize with a bunch of losers like you?"

"Losers? You're saying our whole town was full of losers?" Rick asked.

"Of course. Other than Mr. and Mrs. Shuka, there was no one else worth talking to."

"Even the duelists? Our hometown isn't that small, Maki. We had quite a number of duelists, and according to a recent phone call from my parents, there are more now than there were before I left," Rick said.

"I don't care. I would've won that tournament three years ago if-"

"My brother won that tournament, Maki," Crystal interrupted.

Maki laughed mockingly. "You and I both know I was in control of that entire duel!"

"You were down to your last few life points!" Rick exclaimed.

"I was just about to play a card that would've turned the whole duel around and finished you off!"

"Ha! You're just jealous because I won and took away your title of best duelist in our town!"

"Me? Jealous of _you_?" Maki quipped with a laugh. "Fine! If you want to be stupid and not believe me, then I challenge you to a rematch right now! I'm dueling in this tournament as well you know."

"I've been looking forward to this, Maki."

"We're playing this by Rose Tournament rules, so we each wager one Rose card as well as our rarest card."

"Your tournament, your rules. I have two rose cards anyway."

"Whatever."

"Let's duel!" they both shouted as their Duel Disks lit up and activated.

* * *

"Seto, look! Maki's first duel just came on screen!" Mokuba pointed out excitedly.

_'Well now Maki, we'll see if you're a decent duelist...'_ Seto thought.

**To Be Continued…**

Who will win the duel, Maki or Rick? What is Maki's plan? Will she ever tell her parents about her past? What are the Rose Crusaders up to now? Who is the mysterious duelist with the fifth Blue Eyes White Dragon? Find out on the next chapter!


	23. The Rematch Duel! Maki VS Rick

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… However, I do own Maki, Mr. (Morosou) Kaichi, and Mrs. (Yakima) Kaichi, Rick Takinawa, Crystal Takinawa, and Sujiro.

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.  
_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

Well, I will now be using my xanga to post up music videos of the songs I pick for these chapters. The song I picked for this chapter is "Welcome to My Life" by "Simple Plan." You can see the video on my xanga! (The link is in my profile.)

You're probably wondering why the last chapter was so long. (18 pages on Microsoft word, Times New Roman, 12 pt font) Well, it had to do with the whole theme of the chapter, which, as implied by the title, was "Unwanted Phantoms." In other words, it was the ghosts of Maki's past, Rick Takinawa and Seto Rosenkreuz. I could have split it the chapter into two, but I felt it would all flow better if it was one chapter. Anyway, this one is a little short compared to recent chapters. (6 pages)

4-12-06 – Happy Birthday to ME! (Happy Birthday to Maki Kaichi as well! I figured I would give her the same birthday as mine since I forgot exactly when I created her.)

**Chapter 23 – The Rematch Duel – Maki Kaichi VS. Rick Takinawa**

Maki and Rick each drew five cards.

"You can go first," Maki said.

"How kind of you Maki," Rick mocked and drew a card from his deck. "I place one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Oh, defense mode, I'm so scared," Maki said sarcastically and drew a card. "I play 'Pot of Greed' which lets me draw two cards from my deck. Then I place one card facedown and play 'Beautiful Headhuntress' in attack mode! Attack his facedown monster!"

"Ha! By sending it to the graveyard, you activated my 'Witch of the Black Forest' which lets me draw this from my deck," Rick said as he held up a 'Gemini Elf' card.

"Whatever. I play 'Gravekeeper's Servant' and end my turn."

"Too bad, Maki. I play 'Harpie's Feather Duster' and destroy your facedown card and your 'Gravekeeper's Servant'!" Rick exclaimed as a gust of wind created by 'Harpie's Feather Duster' destroyed Maki's two cards. "Next I play 'Gemini Elf' in attack mode and destroy your 'Beautiful Headhuntress'!"

Maki's life points went down by three hundred. "It's no big deal. I play 'Dunames Dark Witch' in attack mode!" she exclaimed as her monster appeared on the field. A small audience was starting to form around the two duelists.

"'Dunames Dark Witch'? Math is obviously not your strong point, Maki," Rick said with a smirk.

"I wouldn't be so sure. I equip her with my 'Bright Castle' magic card which gives her an extra 700 attack points!" Maki shouted as her 'Dunames Dark Witch's' attack points rose to 2500. "Attack his 'Gemini Elf'!" Rick's life points went down to 7400.

"It's my turn, Maki," Rick said as he drew a card and smirked. "I place one monster down in defense mode and end my turn."

"You are pathetic, Rick," Maki said as she drew a card. "I summon 'Rogue Doll' in attack mode. 'Dunames Dark Witch,' attack his facedown monster!"

Rick laughed as his facedown monster flipped up, revealing 'Man-Eater Bug.' "You've activated my 'Man-Eater Bug's' flip effect which lets me destroy one of your monsters and I choose your 'Dunames Dark Witch'!"

"No!" Maki shouted as her monster was destroyed. Rick smirked as Maki glared at him.

"Yeah, you go big brother!" Crystal cheered.

"Fine, whatever, I can still attack you directly with my 'Rogue Doll'!" Maki shouted as her monster attacked Rick and his life points went down to 5800.

"It's my turn," Rick said as he drew a card from his deck. He glared at his hand. "I place another monster face down and end my turn."

"Another defense monster? I'm sick of this, so I'll destroy your facedown monster with 'Raigeki'!" A bolt of lightning stuck Rick's field obliterating his facedown monster. "I'll place one monster face down in defense and attack you directly with 'Rogue Doll'!" Rick's life points went down 4200.

"Damn you," Rick hissed as he drew a card. "Yes! I place one monster face down in defense mode. Then I'll play 'Monster Reborn' and I'll revive your 'Dunames Dark Witch' on my side of the field and attack your 'Rogue Doll'!" Rick exclaimed as 'Dunames Dark Witch' destroyed Maki's 'Rogue Doll.'

Maki drew a card. "I play 'Soul of the Pure' and increase my life points by 800. I end my turn." Maki's life points rose to 8300.

"My turn," Rick said and drew a card. "I place another monster face down in defense mode and end my turn."

"I play the field card 'Yami' and end my turn," Maki said as a sudden cloud of darkness engulfed the ground around them. The audience watching the duelists watched with interest.

"I play 'Gravekeeper's Servant' and place one monster in defense mode."

"I play 'Monster Reborn' and revive your 'Gemini Elf' on my side of the field! Thanks to my 'Yami' field card, 'Gemini Elf' gets a 200 attack point boost. I attack 'Dunames Dark Witch'!"

"Well, thanks to my 'Gravekeeper's Servant' card, you lose one card from the top of your deck for attacking me," Rick said as his life points went down to 3700 and Maki moved one card from the top of her deck to her graveyard.

"Go Rick! You can take her down!" Crystal shouted.

"Isn't that Maki Kaichi?" a nearby duelist asked.

"Yeah, she's the one who co-created this tournament," another duelist replied.

"She's wiping the floor with this guy!" a third duelist commented.

"It's my turn now, Maki," Rick said and drew a card. "I place one card facedown and another monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Oh no! Four monsters in defense mode! Whatever will I do?" Maki said sarcastically. "I know! I'll play 'Change of Heart' and take the monster all the way on my right. I'll flip it and - oh! It's a flip effect card, 'Mask of Darkness' which lets me return one trap card from my graveyard to my hand."

"Well I activate this card, 'Call of the Haunted' which lets me special summon one monster from my graveyard and I choose 'Witch of the Black Forest.'" Rick said.

"It's still my turn, so I place one card face down and sacrifice 'Mask of Darkness' and my facedown monster to summon this," Maki said as she held up a card Rick knew all too well.

"'Barrel Dragon'!" Rick exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Yes… It's the monster that has always been your downfall, Rick!" Maki exclaimed with a smirk as Barrel Dragon appeared on the field, gaining quite a few astonished gasps from the audience which was much larger now since many duelists had heard the co-creator of the Rose Tournament was dueling.

* * *

"Seto! Maki just summoned a really strong monster on her side of the field!" Mokuba exclaimed with an excited smile.

Seto, however, was not exactly paying attention to Maki's progress in the duel. He was more concentrated on the name of Maki's opponent - Rick Takinawa. Where had he seen that name before? Did Rick have some sort of connection with Maki? Seto racked his brains for some sort of clue and remembered some of the various old news articles he had saved on his computer regarding the story of Maki's disappearance.

'_This is the kid she was dueling that day. What a coincidence…' _Seto thought as he watched the progress of the duel.

* * *

"Rick!" Crystal shouted in despair. Her brother had always lost against Maki whenever she played 'Barrel Dragon.'

"I activate my 'Barrel Dragon's special effect. I get to flip three coins. If at least two of them are heads, I can destroy one monster on your side of the field," Maki explained as three coins appeared and flipped into the air. Only one landed on heads. Rick sighed in relief.

"You got lucky, but I don't really need that special effect to beat you. I can still attack you. 'Barrel Dragon,' attack his 'Witch of the Black Forest'!" Maki exclaimed as she moved one card from her deck to her graveyard due to the effect of 'Gravekeeper's Servant.'

Rick's life points went down to 2400. "My 'Witch of the Black Forest's' effect activates which lets me move 'The Bistro Butcher' from my deck to my hand."

"It's still my turn and I attack your middle defense monster with 'Gemini Elf'!" Maki said and lost another card from the top of her deck due to 'Gravekeeper's Servant.'

"Yes! I was hoping you would choose that one, Maki!" Rick said with a giant smirk as the card Maki attacked flipped over and activated.

"No!" Maki shouted with wide eyes as Rick's 'Cyber Jar' activated, destroying every monster on the field and forcing both of them to draw five cards. If any of them were level four or lower monster cards, they had to summon them to the field. Maki summoned 'Gemini Elf' and 'Neo the Magic Swordsman' in attack mode. Rick summoned 'Man Eater Bug' and two 'Magicians of Faith' in defense mode.

Maki attacked the two magicians with her two monsters and lost two more cards from the top of her deck. The effect of Rick's 'Magicians of Faith' activated and he brought back 'Harpie's Feather Duster' and 'Monster Reborn.'

"I play 'Final Flame' which makes you lose 600 life points and I end my turn," Maki said as Rick's life points went down to 1800.

"I play 'Harpie's Feather Duster' and destroy your facedown card as well as your 'Yami' field card," Rick said as another gust of wind destroyed Maki's cards. The field returned to normal and Maki's monsters lost the field power bonus.

"Alright! You can do this Rick!" Crystal cheered.

"I play 'Delinquent Duo.' At the cost of 1000 life points, I choose one card from your hand and you choose one card from your hand. They both go to the graveyard," Rick explained.

"That's a stupid move if you ask me, but go ahead," Maki said as she and Rick each choose a card from her deck and sent them to the graveyard.

"I play 'The Bistro Butcher' and flip my 'Man Eater Bug' to attack mode, which activates and lets me destroy your 'Gemini Elf'! Then I'll destroy your 'Neo the Magic Swordsman' with my 'Bistro Butcher' and attack your life points directly with 'Man Eater Bug'!" Rick exclaimed as Maki's life points went down to 7750.

"You barely made a dent in my life points, Rick. Not to mention the effect of your 'Bistro Butcher' lets me draw two cards from my deck."

"Who cares? I place two cards face down and end my turn."

Maki drew a card. "I play 'Spirit of the Harp' in attack mode and attack your 'Man Eater Bug." Rick's life points went down to 450.

"I summon 'Magical White Hat' and attack your 'Spirit of the Harp'! 'Magical White Hat's' effect activates and I can destroy one monster from your hand. Then I'll attack you directly with 'Bistro Butcher'!" Rick said as Maki's life points went down to 5750.

"Yes, but 'Bistro Butcher's' effect activates which lets me draw two cards. It's my turn now," Maki said and drew three cards in total. She smirked triumphantly. "Nothing you do now can save you, Rick. I summon 'Goddess with the Third Eye' and equip her with 'Elf's Light' which gives her an extra 400 attack points! Finally, I'll attack your 'Magical White Hat' and end the duel!" Maki exclaimed as her monster attacked Rick's and his life points went down to zero. He fell to his knees.

"No! Rick!" Crystal exclaimed and ran to her older brother's side as he stood there gaping at Maki in shock.

The audience around the two duelists clapped and nearby duelists cheered. They slowly walked away and went their separate ways.

"Well Rick, I think that proves who the better duelist is." Maki said with a smirk as she walked up to him.

Rick glared at her as Crystal gave him a tight hug to comfort him.

"Rick! Crystal! Sorry I'm late!" a voice called out as its owner ran up to the group. "What's going on?"

"Sujiro!" Crystal exclaimed and gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"So you two _are_ dating, then? That's not much of a surprise," Maki muttered as she bent down and took one of Rick's red rose cards and his rarest card, 'Harpie's Feather Duster.'

"Maki Kaichi? You're alive?" Sujiro asked with wide eyes.

Maki glared at him. "Of course I'm alive, you baka. I bet you were glad to go around town as if you owned it without me there to stand up to you. You three really are pathetic."

Crystal frowned and helped Rick stand up. "You've got it wrong, Maki. You're the one who's pathetic. You may have beaten my brother but what good is it if you don't have anyone to cheer you on or congratulate you when you win? Face it Maki, you don't have any friends and you never will if that attitude of yours doesn't change."

"Who needs friends? They'll just end up betraying you in the end," Maki spat.

"You're still upset about that?" Crystal asked with a tone of disbelief. "That was nearly nine years ago! We were just kids back then! I'll admit it was terrible of my brother to butcher your hair like that and pick on you for being fat, but I was just a scared little girl who didn't want to get on her brother's bad side! I wanted to give our friendship another chance; I really did. The last time I saw you, before you disappeared, I asked you if you wanted to be friends again and you blew me off. Well, now I'm not so sure I want to give you another chance," Crystal said, her voice rising and cracking slightly at odd points during her speech.

No one was aware that a certain blonde haired, violet eyed female was standing nearby and listening in on their conversation. _'So that's why she doesn't want to make friends… She's afraid of getting hurt… Not that I blame her… I'm sure anyone would feel betrayed if his or her friend just stood by while he or she was being picked on…'_

"You're not the only one who's betrayed me," Maki mumbled, more to herself than out loud, as she looked down at the Rose Crusader badge pinned to her jacket.

"What?" Crystal asked.

"Nothing," Maki sneered as she looked back up at the trio. "I don't need another chance Crystal. I don't need friends, and I don't need you." She turned around and walked away, leaving Crystal, Rick, and Sujiro staring at her back.

* * *

"So you're saying she's just afraid of making friends?" Tea asked with a bewildered look on her face as she took a sip of her soda.

Mai had wandered around the city for a bit and found Joey in the middle of a duel with the rest of the gang cheering him on. They all went to a nearby burger place and Mai told them what she overheard after Maki's duel.

Mai nodded. "After what that other girl said, there's no doubt in my mind that Maki's just putting up this act to push people away."

"Well dat don't give her da right to insult us all the time and act all high and mighty like Kaiba," Joey commented and took a big bite of his burger.

"Perhaps not, but she's afraid of getting hurt. You'd probably do the same if it happened to you," Ryou stated.

"But that other girl makes a lot of sense though. Maki shouldn't stay mad at her and push everyone away for something that happened when they were little kids," Serenity countered.

"Yeah, Serenity has a point," Tristan began.

"Ah, that's the other thing," Mai interrupted, "Maki mumbled something after that. I'm pretty sure it was something like 'you're not the only one who's betrayed me.'"

"What did she mean by that?" Tea asked.

"Do you think it has something to do with that guy in the white cloak I told you about before?" Duke wondered aloud.

"Who knows?" Ryou said with a shrug.

"I still think she's a jerk," Joey muttered as he threw a fry in the air and attempted to catch it with his mouth. He failed and the fry landed on Tristan's head. Somehow, no one seemed to notice. Joey lightly snickered to himself as he took another bite of his burger.

"Well speak of the devil," Mai said as a familiar face appeared at the entrance to the burger place.

**TBC…**

I'm not much of a duelist, so that duel probably wasn't too good for those of you who are more experienced duelists. I wrote this one on my own, whereas the three duels I have for the finals were written by one of my readers, **wormapple**. I hope you liked it though. Thanks for reading and have a nice day!

**Also!** Please check out my forum, **YuGiOh Three Word Story RPGs**. It would really be more fun if more people participated in the three word stories. Thanks!


	24. All the Things She Said

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… However, I do own Maki, Mr. (Morosou) Kaichi, Mrs. (Yakima) Kaichi, Rick Takinawa, Crystal Takinawa, and Sujiro Mitsuki.

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.  
_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

Well, I will now be using my xanga to post up music videos of the songs I pick for these chapters as well as sneak peeks for future chapters. The song I picked for this chapter is "All the Things She Said" by "T.A.T.U." You can see the video on my xanga! (The link is in my profile.)

Again, I am sorry for the delay in updates. I have a month left of school and two major projects that are due in about one to one and a half weeks from now. I hope you like the chapter though. It is not a very exciting chapter, I will admit, but it does kind of set the stage for the next couple of chapters.

**Chapter 24 - All the Things She Said…**

"Hey Maki! Over here!" Tea called out as she waved her hand in the air so Maki would notice the group of friends.

"Tea! What are ya doin?" Joey hissed. "Why are ya invitin _her_ over here?"

"If what Mai says is true, then we shouldn't just give up trying to show Maki that not all people are bad. Even if she doesn't want _us_ as her friends, she should still give friendship a chance," Tea stated reproachfully in response to Joey's rudeness.

Maki blinked in surprise and looked over in their direction. Her eyebrow rose in wonder. _'What could they want with me? I thought I made it clear to them that I didn't want their friendship. Whatever, I'll just ignore them.' _She turned away and walked toward the counter to order something.

"See? She's ignorin us on purpose!" Joey exclaimed with a frown as he popped a fry into his mouth.

"We'll see about that," Mai muttered as she stood up and waltzed towards Maki, her heels clicking rhythmically with every step.

"Thank you," Maki said and paid the girl at the counter for the soda she bought.

"Hello there, Maki. What a coincidence seeing you here," Mai said cheerfully as she stopped right next to Maki. "Why don't you come join us?" Without giving Maki the chance to answer, Mai grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the table the group of friends was seated at.

With the exception of Joey and Tristan, everyone at the table greeted Maki with bright smiles on their faces. Maki looked at them as if they had all grown two heads.

"Why don't you sit down, Maki?" Serenity asked sweetly.

"Do you all have your heads on straight?" Maki asked, earning her a glare from Joey.

"Oh come on Maki, give us another chance, no, give _friendship_ another chance," Tea pleaded politely.

"What are you talking about?" Maki asked.

"Oh, congratulations on your first duel, Maki," Mai said with a suggestive smirk.

"What do you...? You were listening in on my conversation!" Maki realized as her eyes widened slightly.

Tea sighed. "Well, that's Mai for you. The rest of us were all watching Joey in a duel."

"Whatever. I have a tournament to run," Maki said and turned to walk away.

"See, what did I tell you? She sounds exactly like that jerk, Kaiba," Joey aloud, not caring whether Maki heard him or not.

Maki turned around and glared at him. "I thought you were all annoying at first, but now I find you all pathetic. You claim you want to be my friends and then you go and insult me. How hypocritical."

Tea stood up. "Maki, friendship isn't something you should be afraid of! You shouldn't push yourself away from people because of something that happened to you nearly a decade ago. From what I understand, those ex-friends of yours didn't mean to do what they did to you. Why do you keep living as if someone's out to hurt you?"

_'She sounds just like Crystal... and my mother,'_ Maki thought and made a mock laugh. "And why do you keep talking to me as if you know me? You're all wasting my time and I suggest you stop meddling in other people's lives; it's very rude. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a tournament to run _and _compete in." Maki said and took a sip of her soda which had been previously forgotten in her hand. "Oh, and one more thing. Tristan," she began.

Tristan looked up in question.

"If I'm not mistaken, French fries are for eating, not for placing on your head as a hat," Maki jested with a smirk and walked out of the burger shop, leaving the gang of friends with confused looks on their faces, except for Joey who was fully aware of what she meant.

Tristan reached up and felt around his head as the others looked at him and Joey turned away, trying to stifle a laugh. Surely enough, a fry fell down from Tristan's head and landed triumphantly on the table.

"What the...?" Tristan wondered aloud and Joey burst out laughing.

"Hey! You put that on my head on purpose didn't you?" Tristan shouted and grabbed Joey in a headlock and gave him a noogie. The others started laughing at the hilarity of the situation.

"Maki must have thought you were an idiot with that fry on your head," Duke pointed out and dodged a French fry that Tristan threw at him.

"Agh, Tristan! Let me go!" Joey said as he flailed his arms around as if he was a bird.

The group of friends continued laughing as Tristan kept the flailing Joey in a headlock.

_

* * *

'Just who do they think they are to tell me I should have friends? Tea... Crystal... Mom... I'm sick of everyone trying to get me to change or just blurt out everything that happened to me during my three-year disappearance...' Maki thought as she walked along the streets of Domino and took another sip of her soda._

**...Flashback...**

Crystal frowned and helped Rick stand up. "You've got it wrong, Maki. You're the one who's pathetic. You may have beaten my brother but what good is it if you don't have anyone to cheer you on or congratulate you when you win? Face it Maki, you don't have any friends and you never will if that attitude of yours doesn't change."

**...End Flashback...**

_'I don't need anyone to cheer me on. I never did and I never will.'_

**...Flashback...**

"Maki, I'm worried about you. You're a complete mystery to me now. Who are you? You keep having nightmares lately and you always seem to be on guard as if someone is after you."

"I can't tell you, mom."

"Why not?"

"It's too complicated."

"I'm sick of that excuse!" Mrs. Kaichi exclaimed, her face contorting into a frown.

**...End Flashback...**

Maki sighed. '_I'm sorry, mom. I'm just not ready to tell you what I've been though yet…'_

A group of duelists walked past her, three of them cheering on the fourth. Apparently the boy had just won a duel. They all had giant goofy smiles on their faces and looked as if they could not be happier.

"Way to go, Ken!" the three boys shouted and patted the fourth boy's back.

"Aw guys, come on," he said with a sweat drop as his friends continued making a commotion on the street.

Maki looked on in wonder as the group of boys walked away, smiling and laughing.

_'They look so happy... I just beat Rick... So why do I feel so... incomplete... Would I really feel any better if I had friends?'_ Maki thought and growled in frustration, finished her soda, and dumped it haphazardly in a nearby trash bin.

_'Stupid Tea and her friends... They're driving me crazy now... making me think that I need friends... I don't need friends! ...Do I?'_

Maki frowned and continued walking along, not caring where she was going. A soft musical tone coming from her pocket brought Maki out of her reverie. She pulled out the cell phone her mother let her borrow and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Kaichi, have you encountered the mystery duelist yet?"

"No. It's only the first day. I'm sure she'll appear sooner or later."

"Very well. Congratulations on your first duel."

"Oh, thank you."

"Keep an eye out for the mystery duelist."

"Yeah… I will."

"Bye."

"Bye Kaiba," Maki said, shutting the phone and stuffing it back in her pocket. She sighed and walked off toward Domino Park where she sat on the swings, deep in thought.

* * *

"So you managed to take down her Barrel Dragon and she _still_ kicked your butt?" Sujiro Mitsuki asked as he and the Takinawa siblings, Rick and Crystal, walked into a burger shop.

"Stop rubbing it in, will you? You're supposed to be supporting me, not laughing at me!" Rick retorted as he and Sujiro sat down at a table while Crystal walked off to order something.

"Sorry, but you know that whenever you duel Maki, you don't really stand a chance. It's been like that since the first time you two dueled," Sujiro commented, earning him a glare from his blonde-haired best friend.

"She must have cheated. There's no way she could've beaten me! I've gotten better in the last three years!" Rick exclaimed and slammed a fist on the table angrily.

Sujiro sighed and rolled his eyes. Crystal came back with a tray of food and sat next to Sujiro who kissed her on the cheek and immediately started munching on his burger. Rick was just about to start eating his own burger when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around and blinked questioningly at a pair of emerald eyes that seemed to rival his own in brightness.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help overhearing – you all know Maki Kaichi?" the emerald-eyed, ebony-haired boy asked, his large group of friends pretending to not be listening in, but failing miserably.

"Yeah, we know her. Who are you?" Rick asked as Sujiro and Crystal looked on in confusion at the large group of friends seated at the next table.

"You're the guy who just dueled her a few minutes ago!" Mai interrupted.

"Oh, this is great Rick. You'll be known in the Rose Tournament as 'the guy who dueled Maki and lost,'" Crystal said sarcastically with a slight hint of jest earning her a quick glare from her older brother.

"Shut up! I still have one rose card left! I'm going to make it to the finals and I'll get her then!" Rick hissed.

"Yeah, anyway, you wouldn't mind if we ask you something?" Tea asked.

"What is it?" Crystal asked.

"Why does Maki have dat huge stick shoved up her-?"

"Joey!" Tea shouted, interrupting before the blonde could utter any profanities. "What he means to say is," she said, turning back to Rick, Crystal and Sujiro, "can you tell us what happened to Maki to make her so defensive against people?"

Crystal sighed and sat leaned forward a little so the group could hear her better. Everyone else did the same and listened intently.

"It's a long story," Crystal began, "but here goes. It all started back when she and I first became friends…"

* * *

Domino Park was bustling with shouts and cheers as duels sprang up in various parts of the large park. The sun shone brightly in the sky as battles between the popular monsters raged, passersby looking on with curiosity. No one noticed as a phone rang loudly; its owner seated quietly on one of the swings.

"Hello?"

"Hi! I'm just wondering when part A of the plan is going to start."

"Not until tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll see you then."

"Bye."

* * *

Meanwhile, another plan was underway, its major players all seated at a large circular table.

"Have you located her yet?"

"It's a large city, Master Rosenkreuz. It will take me a while to find her now that the tournament has started."

"I'm losing my patience, Keith. I want her here, _now_! She has a punishment to serve and I won't rest until I see it happen."

"I promise, Rosenkreuz, by the time this tournament is over, she'll be on her knees before you."

Rosenkreuz smirked evilly.

* * *

_"This is the end for you, Maki. You thought you could escape Rosenkreuz, but you were wrong. Why don't you make this easy for all of us and just surrender yourself?" a deep husky voice asked. Its owner was a tall man in a long white hooded cloak. He bore the Rose Crusader badge on his cloak, just as Maki did on her jacket. His blonde bangs peeked out from under the hood._

_"I've told you multiple times, Keith; I am NOT going back to Rosenkreuz. If he wants me, why doesn't he come get me himself?" Maki shouted._

_They were both standing in an endless void of darkness which surprisingly did not bother either of the two as they continued their discussion._

_"Be careful what you wish for, Maki; it might come true. Let's see now. I'll make you an offer, Maki. You come with me and..." he trailed off. His lips continued moving, but no sound came out, leaving Maki blinking in confusion._

_"What?" she asked._

_Keith faded away, leaving Maki alone in the darkness._

_"Wait! Come back here!" she yelled as she frantically looked around to find him._

_"Kaichi!" another voice shouted angrily._

_'There's only one person that calls me that,' Maki thought and turned around, coming face to face with Seto Kaiba._

_He glared at her; his eyes were full of pure anger towards her._

_Maki looked back at him warily. 'Why is he looking at me like that? This is Seto Kaiba, right? Not Seto Rosenkreuz…?'_

"_Kaiba? Why are you glaring at me like that?" she asked._

_His glare intensified as he opened his mouth to speak. "You devious little liar, you have the _nerve_ to ask why I'm upset with you? We worked hard on something that turned out to be one big hoax. I don't like people who waste my time, Maki Kaichi. I'm sure I made that perfectly clear when we started this. I don't know what you were hoping to get out of this and frankly, I don't care. I never want you in my sight again, Kaichi, are we clear?"_

"_What? I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Maki asked._

_Before she could receive a reply, she heard a gunshot and a blinding jolt of pain engulfed her, making her collapse to the ground. She tilted her head upward to see Seto Kaiba fade away into the darkness, his face completely expressionless._

'_No… Seto, please… help me… Why do I feel… so cold…?' Maki thought as the pain coursing through her body numbed her._

"NO!" Maki screamed and shot out of bed, her face dripping with sweat. She panted heavily as she looked around and sighed, realizing she was safely in her room. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. A sudden knock at her door made her jump up in fright.

"Maki? Are you all right? Please open the door!" Mrs. Kaichi pleaded as she rattled the doorknob. Ever since Maki had her own room, she would lock her room at night before she went to bed. It was summer and she preferred to sleep in a pair of short shorts and a spaghetti-strapped tank top. Her sleepwear showed off the scars on her shoulder and thigh and, if she tossed and turned while sleeping, her tank top would go up, showing off the six-inch scar on her stomach. She had not yet told her parents about the scars and did not want them to see the scars until she was ready. She always wore long shorts and a jacket during the day, but at night she was exposed and could not afford to have her parents walk in while she was sleeping and see the noticeable scars.

"I'm fine, mom!" Maki lied and lay back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. _'That dream… What did it mean? What did Keith do? Why was Seto Kaiba so mad at me? Did… did I get shot?'_

Yakima Kaichi sighed and rested her forehead on the door. _'You may be back with us physically, Maki, but it still feels like you're gone. Who are you? Where's the Maki who didn't keep secrets from me?'_

"Yakima?" Morosou Kaichi asked as he walked up to his wife and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Morosou, she's here and yet it still feels like she isn't. I don't know what to do anymore. It was depressing not having her around at all, but so is having someone who looks like our daughter yet acts like a stranger," Mrs. Kaichi muttered as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Mr. Kaichi wrapped his arms around his wife. "She promised she would tell us, Yakima. Perhaps she just needs more time. Let's wait until this tournament of hers is over. Then, whether she wants to or not, she is going to sit down with us and we are going to have a long talk."

Yakima nodded.

"Let's go back to bed. It's late," Morosou said and he and Yakima walked back to their room.

Maki sighed as she continued staring at the ceiling. She heard every word her mother said and regretted the fact that it was all true. She was a stranger to her parents and she wanted nothing more than to restore that old communicative relationship they used to have. Maki turned over on her right side and closed her eyes as she tried to go back to sleep, her mother's words running through her head.

**TBC…**

What did Maki's dream mean? What is Maki's plan? Will she finally consider making friends? Find out on a future chapter of The Rose Duelist. As I said before, it is not one of the most exciting chapters, but it is important. Anyway, thank you for reading and have a nice day! Until next time!


	25. The Mysterious Duelist

"The Rose Duelist"  
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic  
By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… However, I do own Maki, Mr. (Morosou) Kaichi, Mrs. (Yakima) Kaichi, Rick Takinawa, Crystal Takinawa, and Sujiro Mitsuki.

_'Words in italics and single quotation marks'_ are thoughts.  
_"Words with double" or no quotation marks_ are dreams.

Well, I will now be using my xanga to post up music videos of the songs I pick for these chapters as well as sneak peeks for future chapters. The song I picked for this chapter is "Breakaway" by "Kelly Clarkson" You can see the video on my xanga! (The link is in my profile.)

Again, I am very sorry for not updating for almost two months. I suffered a bad case of writer's block for this chapter, but I should be better now and I hope you like this chapter. Things are becoming more complicated in the Rose Tournament now as you will see.

I dedicate this chapter to **KamiKaze no Kage** for the wonderful Maki fanart she sent to me. If anyone else would like to send some fanart, it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you and enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 25 – The Mysterious Duelist…**

Maki woke up and yawned loudly as she sat up and stretched. She shielded her eyes from the bright sunrays streaming in though her half-open window. The clock on her nightstand read 7:30 AM. She climbed out of bed and grabbed her clothes, draping her jacket over her shoulders as she unlocked her door and left her room to go to the bathroom.

After she had showered, brushed her teeth and blow-dried her hair, she went downstairs to eat breakfast. Her father, as usual, was sipping a cup of coffee with the daily newspaper in his hand, his round silver glasses neatly perched on the bridge of his nose.

"Good morning," Maki mumbled, seating herself across from her father.

"Ah, here," her father said as he passed a slim silver flip phone across the table to Maki.

"A cell phone for me?" Maki asked as she picked up the nearly weightless phone. Her father nodded.

"I added you to our family plan yesterday. It will help the three of us keep in touch today once your plan begins in motion," her father explained. Maki nodded in understanding. Mr. Kaichi also gave her the number for her cell phone so Maki could give it to the Kaiba brothers, who currently had her mother's number. Maki thanked her father as Mrs. Kaichi put a bowl of cereal down in front of her.

"You both have the stuff I gave you and you know what to do, right?" Maki asked her parents. Mr. Kaichi nodded.

"We're not exactly sure why you're doing this, Maki, but we'll support you all the way," Mrs. Kaichi said as she sat down.

After they ate breakfast, the three members of the Kaichi family left the house and went their separate ways.

* * *

Meanwhile, three figures were talking in a well hidden alleyway, which was fairly dark, despite the bright summer sun shining in the sky. One of the three figures had a long white cloak draped over his shoulders, his head covered by the white hood attached to the cloak; his face was covered by the shadows. He held a second, identical white cloak in his arm. The second figure had on what appeared to be biker attire. There was a bandana of the American flag tied around his head and black sunglasses, which covered his blue eyes. The last of the three figures was wearing nothing but boxers and his arms and legs were tied up.

"Hey! Let me go! What do you two want with me and why do _you_ look exactly like me?" he cried, struggling against the ropes that tied him together. His blonde hair waved around freely now that the bandana he usually wore around it had been taken away.

The man wearing his clothes smirked. "I'm assuming your name is Keith, correct?"

"Yes, they call me Bandit Keith. Why do you- You! You must be the imposter who registered as me in the tournament! What the hell are you after?" Bandit Keith shouted at the man who looked his identical twin.

"Well, just to keep you quiet, I'll tell you _something_." Keith replied as the smirk plastered on his face widened.

"You see," Keith began, "there's someone in this tournament who owes us something and we won't rest until we see her get her comeuppance. In order to get her, I entered this tournament as you to grab her when she least expects it. I'm sure you'll understand."

"But why me?" Bandit Keith asked.

"We're not from this world. So, Keith here is our world's counterpart of you," the man in the white cloak said.

Bandit Keith looked up at him. "Your voice sounds familiar... Pegasus?"

The man chuckled. "That _is_ my name, but I'm not the same Pegasus you know." He pulled back his hood, revealing long silvery hair and a face Bandit Keith knew all too well. However, something was missing, Bandit Keith noticed - the Millennium Eye. _'So it's true? These guys are from another world? I'm either drunk or I'm dreaming.'_

"Well, I think I should start collecting those rose cards," Keith stated and walked out of the alleyway, leaving the real Bandit Keith and Rose Crusader Pegasus behind.

Pegasus nodded and pulled his hood back on. "Don't worry my friend," he said, turning to Bandit Keith, "we'll take good care of you until we grab the girl. Then you can go free."

Bandit Keith stopped struggling and decided to wait for the perfect chance to escape.

* * *

"Mokuba, has the mystery duelist played yet?" Seto asked as he walked into the large room in which they monitored the progress of every duel in the tournament.

Mokuba looked up at his older brother and shook his head. "Not yet, Seto, but it's only morning on the second day. I'm sure she'll appear soon."

Seto nodded and watched the screens.

* * *

"Alright! Go my Red Eyes Black Dragon! Infernal Fire Blast!" Joey shouted as his prized dragon destroyed the monster on his opponent's side of the field.

"Yeah! Another win for Joey Wheeler!" he exclaimed happily as his opponent trudged over and handed him his rarest card along with a white rose card.

"You're awesome, big brother!" Serenity exclaimed and gave her brother a congratulatory hug as Duke and Tristan mentally put themselves in Joey's place.

"Hey, where are Mai, Téa and Ryou?" Joey asked as he looked around for his three missing friends.

Tristan laughed. "Well, Mai said something about this being an easy duel, so she walked off to find someone to duel her and she took Téa and Ryou with her."

"An easy duel for whom?" Joey asked with a raised eyebrow.

Duke shrugged. "I don't know. Your opponent, maybe?"

"What? Hey! I'll give her a piece of my mind!" Joey exclaimed and stalked off to find Mai, the others sweat dropping as they followed close behind.

* * *

"Hmm, I don't see what all the fuss is about. You don't seem all that strong. I attack your defense monster with my Dark Witch! Even though I have to give up 1000 of my life points to do it, at least it will clear your field, leaving you wide open for an attack!"

"I don't think so! My defense monster happens to be Spirit of the Harp! My field is safe and you still lose 1000 life points for attacking me with Dark Witch."

"Damn!"

* * *

"Mr. Kaiba! We've located an unknown duelist playing right now."

"What? Put the duel on screen right now!" Seto ordered.

"Right away, sir," the purple haired woman said and typed quickly away.

Just as she said, the duel on the screen was between a duelist, who was the champion of his hometown two years running, and a completely unknown duelist with no name, no picture, and no information on his or her deck, except for the cards that he or she already played during this duel.

_'Hmmm... Interesting... Is this the mystery duelist?'_

Mokuba watched the screen intently. "Is it her?"

"There's only one way to be sure, Mokuba, and that's if this duelist plays the Blue Eyes White Dragon," Seto replied.

Mokuba nodded. _'If it's really you, then good luck.'_

_

* * *

_

"Now, I draw a card and, oh! I play Change of Heart and take control of your Dark Witch."

"It won't make a difference if you attack me with my Dark Witch. I still have 3000 life points!"

"Who says I'm going to attack you with that monster? No. I sacrifice Dark Witch and my Spirit of the Harp to summon this!" A bright light emanated from the duelist's side of the field as the monster appeared.

"No! It can't be!"

"Yes! My Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The duelist laughed and attacked her opponent, wiping out his life points.

* * *

_'Kaichi wasn't lying... There really is another Blue Eyes White Dragon out there.'_ Seto thought as the duel ended on screen.

"Alright! The mystery duelist won!" Mokuba exclaimed. _'I knew you could do it.'_

"Well, now that that's over… Roland!" Seto called out as he left the room.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" Roland asked, following his boss.

"There's a duelist in this tournament I need to see personally. I want you to bring him to my office," Seto explained.

"Sure thing, Mr. Kaiba. Name?"

"Rick Takinawa."

* * *

"Let's see. Who shall I pummel today?"

"Rick, I suggest you think about this carefully before you pick some random duelist out of nowhere. After your loss yesterday, you were left with only one rose card," Crystal stated matter-of-factly as she, Rick and Sujiro wandered the streets of Domino, looking for someone for Rick's next duel.

"Ugh, do you have to bring that up again, Crystal?" Rick asked with a disgusted tone of voice.

"Man, I'm still mad I missed that duel. How bad did she beat him, Crystal?" Sujiro asked. Rick frowned.

Crystal sighed. "It was kind of pathetic really. There were a few times when I thought Rick could turn it around, but Maki would suddenly come and pull the duel back in her favor."

"Really? What beat him? Was it her Barrel Dragon again?" Sujiro asked as Rick growled slightly.

"That's the sad part of the story. He actually managed to get rid of it with Cyber Jar before she could do any real damage with it and she still managed to-"

"Would you two shut up!" Rick shouted loudly and stopped walking, attracting attention from nearby people who looked at him strangely. Crystal sighed in embarrassment and Sujiro pulled Rick along so they could continue walking.

"Let's just focus on finding someone for Rick to duel so he can get another rose card," Crystal mumbled.

"Yeah, okay," Sujiro replied and the three continued walking.

Rick's cell phone suddenly started ringing and he picked it up and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Am I speaking with Rick Takinawa?" a voice asked.

"Yes, this is him. Who is this?" Rick asked.

"Seto Kaiba," the voice replied. Rick gasped as his eyes widened slightly and he stopped walking. Crystal and Sujiro looked at him oddly and he mouthed "Seto Kaiba," causing them to make an "o" with their mouths in understanding.

"Yes, what can I do for you, Mr. Kaiba?" Rick asked, trying to sound confident although he was nervous. Who would not be if he or she was talking to one of the greatest people in Duel Monsters?

"It's about my co-host, Maki Kaichi. I previously did a little research on her past and as I was watching her duel with you yesterday, I noticed you two have some sort of connection."

"Um, yes, we both came from the same hometown," Rick stated, frowning at the fact that this was about Maki.

"Are they talking about Maki?" Sujiro whispered to Crystal.

"Figures the only reason someone like Seto Kaiba would call my brother is because of her," Crystal mumbled. Rick heard her and glared at her. Crystal crossed her arms and smirked.

"Well, I'd like you to come to my office here at Kaiba Corp, ASAP. What time is convenient for you?" Seto asked.

"I'll come over right now!" Rick exclaimed, not betraying the excitement in his voice.

"I'll be waiting."

"Oh, and can I bring my sister and best friend?"

"Are they connected to Kaichi as well?"

"Yes. She and my sister were best friends from Kindergarten to third grade."

"Very well, bring them too. Goodbye, Mr. Takinawa," Seto said and hung up.

"Goodbye," Rick said and pressed the "End Call" button on his phone. He stared off into space in some state of euphoria. Crystal waved a hand in his face to capture his attention.

"Hello? Earth to Rick!" she exclaimed.

"Are you okay, dude?" Sujiro asked.

"Oh 'Icky Ricky'!" Crystal shouted.

Rick blinked and looked down at his sister, glaring at her. "I told you not to call me that!"

Crystal crossed her arms again and smirked. "You looked like you just got high off that phone call. What did Kaiba-sama say?"

"Kaiba-sama?" Sujiro asked, giving her an odd look. Crystal blushed slightly and looked away.

Rick smirked. "Oh, that's right. Little 'Crystal-whistle' has a crushy-wushy on Mr. Seto Kaiba," he said in a sing-song voice, earning him a threatening glare from the younger Takinawa sibling.

"You know I hate that name! Crushy-wushy? What am I, a two year old?" Crystal snarled. Rick laughed as Sujiro gave them both funny looks.

"After all these years, I still don't understand your little 'sibling moments'," Sujiro commented as Crystal whacked Rick, stopping him from laughing.

"Ow…" Rick muttered, rubbing the side of his head.

"Serves you right for laughing at me," Crystal said, still glaring at him.

"Yeah, whatever. Kaiba wants to see us in his office so let's go," Rick muttered, still rubbing his head.

Crystal blinked and looked up at him expectantly. "Kaiba-sama wants to see _us_?"

Rick rolled his eyes. "Don't get your hopes up, Crystal. I get the feeling this is all about Maki."

Crystal growled. "What's so special about _her_?"

"Don't be jealous. She _is_ co-hosting this thing with him after all, right? Besides, you're dating Sujiro and you don't want him getting jealous of Kaiba now, do you?" Rick asked, earning him another glare from Crystal.

"Why are we talking about me in the third person? I'm right here!" Sujiro exclaimed, frowning at his best friend and girlfriend as they started walking away from him, toward Kaiba Corp., bickering away as siblings usually do.

* * *

"Thanks, dad. I'll see you in two hours," Maki said and waved as her father drove off. Her new cell phone started ringing.

"Hello?" she asked as she flipped it open and put it to her ear.

"Kaichi, you missed the first duel of our mystery duelist," Seto said.

"Oh, really? How did it go?"

"Quite well. I almost doubted you, but you were right; there _is_ another Blue Eyes out there."

"Of course. I never lie."

"How are your duels coming along?"

"I haven't had any duels yet today, but I'll be fine. It's still pretty early."

"Yes, well, I'll keep you posted if there's another sighting of the mystery duelist."

"Same here. Bye Kaiba."

"Bye."

* * *

"Mr. Kaiba, Rick Takinawa and his guests are here to see you," Roland said, poking his head into Seto's office.

"Good, let them in," Seto replied, once again looking at the old news articles about Maki Kaichi's disappearance three years ago.

"Sit down," he said without looking up, as Rick, Crystal and Sujiro walked into the office.

"What did you need to see us for, Mr. Kaiba?" Rick asked.

Seto finally looked up, which made Crystal's cheeks redden slightly.

"Tell me everything you know about Maki Kaichi."

**TBC…**

This story is coming to an end pretty soon, which is kind of sad for me, but anyways… So, Seto is still looking into Maki's past. What will happen? Will Bandit Keith escape? Who is the mysterious duelist? I hope you liked the little Takinawa sibling argument in this chapter. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!


	26. Goodbye

**The Rose Duelist**

**END**

**Seto's Princess**: I really hate to do this to you guys, but it has to be done… I have been doing a lot of thinking lately... I wrote a paper on MarySues for my AP Writing class, so I did research... and I recently had a discussion about it with my friend. In the end, I have concluded that Maki Kaichi is in fact a MarySue. Think about it: she was a legend in another world, she had a horribly tragic past, she has the "5th BEWD," she is very pretty, she is an excellent duelist (good enough to eventually beat Seto), and her only flaws seem to be that she can't get along with people and she has post traumatic stress disorder. Her whole relationship with her parents and even with Seto is very MarySueish. I know so many of you liked this story, but I cannot go on writing this, knowing I could and should be doing so much better. Go ahead and kick and scream and flame me all you'd like for this. I have college applications on my mind right now, so I will probably just ignore you if you start hating me. I am obviously not cut out to do OC fics, but do not worry, I will not end Life At My House for those of you who are fans of that.

I will probably delete this and the prequel, War Stories, as soon as I get the chance. If you really want to, I might post it all up on my DeviantArt account so you can still read it if you want to, even though I will never finish it.

- It is the end of an era. I truly loved this story. It has been two years since I started it. I will miss it very much. But alas, all things must come to an end. This one just happened to end sooner than I expected. Goodbye and I hope you'll all still read my other stories. Thank you. –


End file.
